


fragments

by AlexiaBlackbriar13



Series: Olicity AU Series [15]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Scene, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Episode Related, F/M, Ficlet Collection, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, More Tags Coming Soon, Season/Series 02, Season/Series 03, Season/Series 04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-07 10:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15906561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/pseuds/AlexiaBlackbriar13
Summary: a collection of various arrow and olicity ficlets from my drafts folder, partially completed. some AU, some canon related. many related to established verses i've created, although do not need to read those verses to read these fics.1. Daemon AU2. 2x20 AU3. SCWP; Oliver discovers Felicity is a wolf4. 4x01 missing scene5. Celestial (shifter) AU6. Wolf!Oliver; scent-marking clothes7. Little Bird Blue scene; shifter!Felicity exposed8. Panther!Oliver; attack on Queen mansion





	1. Daemon AU

**Author's Note:**

> so, a quick introduction:
> 
> this is going to be a big hoard of all my incomplete (and partially finished) olicity fics and AUs. maybe some of them I’ll come back to some day to complete, but for now, they’re all taking up space in my drafts folder that is so large it’s starting to crash my laptop when I try to open it…. so they need to be posted so I can delete them from the folder
> 
> this collection will consist of:
> 
> \- scenes and ficlets from established verses of mine that I don’t have the muse to finish off  
> \- alternate scenes and little AUs from established verses of mine  
> \- AU ficlets I decided not to complete  
> \- canon divergent, episode and season related ficlets I just lost motivation to write
> 
> all of them will have been rounded off and partially completed.
> 
> i hope you enjoy!
> 
> this first ficlet is a daemon au based on the 'his dark materials series' by phillip pullman. daemons are essentially soul animals.

The rumor that Oliver Queen's daemon had changed shape after arriving home from five years stranded on a deserted island... spread fast. It had escalated from a hospital worker's simple tweet as he passed by Oliver's private room on his way to toxicology. He’d excitingly commented on seeing the billionaire playboy's puma daemon changing into that of a wolf when leaping off the bed, hoping for his own fifteen minutes of fame.

At first, the tweet had been ignored, passed off as a man trying to get attention. But when another tweet followed with a shaky video of the rescued castaway's daemon, clearing showing it was the same daemon changing from puma to wolf. There was obviously nobody else in the room with Oliver and his soul animal… so it went viral.

The tweet with the video was retweeted several thousand times across the globe, and hours after it was originally tweeted, the media picked up the story, and soon the fact that Oliver Queen's daemon could change her shape was being broadcasted around the world.

When Felicity found out, she dropped her glass of water in shock, completely rigid as she stared at the mounted TV screen in the QC IT break room, stunned. Her coworkers startled at the sound of the glass smashing, shattering into tiny shards as it hit the floor, but before any of them could even ask what was wrong, Felicity was gone.

She was heading towards the hospital. Because Oliver Queen's daemon hadn't settled, and neither had hers.

Brynn had been curled up on her shoulder as an ermine during her coffee break, half asleep (exactly how she felt) until he too had heard the news report, at which point he'd begun digging his little claws into her skin with his fur erect. As soon as they reached the empty employee underground garage, he leaped off of her shoulder and transformed into another one of his preferred forms, a goldfinch, to glide around the corner on nimble wings towards her red Mini Cooper.

"Think about what you're doing, Felicity," Brynn said quietly, ever the logical observer as he settled into the passenger seat. He was back in ermine form, watching her carefully as she frantically pulled the Mini out onto the street. "If you approach him, you'll expose yourself."

"He's in danger," she whispered, her hands tightening on the steering wheel as she swallowed. "ARGUS is going to be all over him. I have to at least warn him."

"And alert ARGUS to the fact that you're exactly the same whilst doing so?" Brynn snapped, a hint of a growl leaking into his voice. "They'll have agents crawling all over that hospital; it's probably too late and they've taken him already."

"Them," Felicity corrected shortly. "He and his daemon."

"This is insane," Brynn told her frustratedly. "You do realize that by doing this, you're putting us both in danger as well? He's already done for - and you're planning on exposing us too?"

Felicity jerked the Mini around another corner, nearly sending Brynn flying, but he kept hold of the seat by digging his claws in with an angry hiss. "I can't just sit back and watch a man who has no idea what he and his daemon have got themselves into get whisked away by a clandestine government agency to be experimented on." Her conscience would never survive if she did nothing.

Brynn snarled once in response, but piped down. He obviously could sense that the human part of his soul wasn't going to back down, obviously determined to follow through with what she thought was right. Felicity was silently relieved. She was terrified stiff of ARGUS and what could happen to her and Brynn if they were captured, and having him remind her of that just made her feel even more scared.

It took them barely twenty minutes to reach the hospital. There didn't appear to be any ARGUS agents on site yet, only a boat load of paparazzi. After sitting in her Mini for ten minutes, drumming her fingers on the dashboard nervously while Brynn skirted around in front of her, agitated, Felicity took the risk of heading inside, keeping her head down so the CCTV couldn't get a proper view of her face. 

It surprised her how alarmingly easy it was to sneak into the private sector of the hospital as Brynn flew ahead of her as a finch to scout around corners, making sure the coast was clear. She sat down on one of those flimsy plastic chairs with her tablet on her lap, hacking into the hospital records to find out which room Oliver was staying in, while her daemon kept a careful watch out for any threats or danger.

"You're going to have to change shape," she told Brynn quietly as they approached the door, wringing her hands anxiously. "So they believe what I'm saying."

"I don't like this," Brynn responded lowly, hovering beside her before landing and perching delicately on her shoulder, fluffing up his wings. "I wish we didn't have to do this."

"So do I," Felicity murmured. "But he needs to understand the danger he, his daemon and his family are in now his secret's out. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew he was taken away and I didn't even try to warn him."

With that, she knocked gently on the door before entering without waiting for an answering voice to invite her in. The two occupants of the room startled at her interruption, their daemons whipping around and snarling in defense.

Mrs Queen she recognized from the pictures Walter had framed on his desk. She was as elegant and royal as always, with her perfect hair and straight posture, casting a confused questioning and disdainful look Felicity's way as entered the room. Her lion daemon shook out his heavy mane and his ears flattened back slightly, with his upper lip curling into a growl. Felicity, however, stared straight past the lion and the Queen woman, her eyes zeroing in on the other person with his daemon.

Oliver was dressed in crisp, clean civilian clothes, obviously preparing to leave the hospital, a coat dangling from his hand. He’d tensed and frozen when she had stepped inside, a cold fire burning in his cerulean eyes as he gazed at her suspiciously. Felicity couldn't help but notice his defined body, how his face was hardened into a blank mask to hide his emotions. His daemon, who had been seated on the bed as a puma, tail flicking lazily, transformed into a black falcon of some kind to perch on his shoulder, eyes piercing and wings ruffling.

"Miss Smoak," Mrs Queen said, frowning. Felicity was shocked she even remembered her name. They had only ever met once, in Walter's office, when Felicity had seriously embarrassed herself by launching off into a nervous babble. "How did you -"

She figured Mrs Queen was going to question how the hell and why she had broken into their private wing of the hospital and evaded all the security and hospital workers, but Felicity cut her off, straightening her back and gathering her confidence. "I'm sorry, I know I have no right to be here... But it's important. I wouldn't burst in without a proper reason, and I swear I have one." She turned to Oliver, inhaling sharply. "You're in danger. There are people who are going to be interested in you and your unsettled daemon. They'll take you away to study you and you won't ever see your family again. You need to go into hiding, quickly."

He stared at her intently, shifting into slightly more defensive positioning, before asking in a low voice, "And how do you know that?"

Felicity didn't reply. Instead, Brynn jumped off her shoulder as a finch and swooped down to the floor, changing into his ocelot form, prowling towards Oliver, shaking out his sleek mottled fur. Mrs Queen immediately gasped in astonishment, hand coming up to cover her mouth. Oliver's daemon hopped off his shoulder and shifted into his puma form so the two of them could twist around each other, examining one another.

"Because I'm exactly the same as you," Felicity explained tiredly. "And Brynn and I have been running from ARGUS for almost all my life now."

After a brief moment of silence, Oliver blinked and repeated, "ARGUS?"

"Yeah," she replied. Panic flared as she caught sight of the recognition on his face. "You know about them? Have they already threatened you? I'm good with computers, I can easily help you and your family vanish -"

"Miss Smoak, I'm not in any danger," Oliver interrupted, now looking more panicked himself.

His daemon blinked up at her and said in her silky smooth, "YOU are."

Her heart skipped a beat. "W-what? No, I'm - you're the one in danger, they leaked all over the news that your daemon is unsettled! ARGUS will be coming for you -"

"ARGUS have been watching me for a while now and we've reached an accord," Oliver told her, his daemon slinking back towards him or sit at his feet, ears twitching. "If that information was leaked to the public, they wanted it to be."

Realisation slammed into her with the weight and strength of a freight train. "They're not after you," she whispered. "They're after us." She turned to Brynn urgently, who leaped up into her arms as an ermine, chittering fearfully. "I'm sorry, Mrs Queen, Mr Queen, for interrupting, I assure you I won't be bothering you again -"

Police sirens wailed in the distance and the sound of tears screeching outside the hospital drew her to a sudden halt, her heart in her throat. Oliver remained staring at her, swallowing, his blue eyes like lasers as his mother strode over to the window and peeked out of the curtain outside. Felicity was rigid with fear, practically trembling as Mrs Queen turned to face her with a solemn expression.

"There are black four by fours and what looks to be an entire SWAT squad out there," Mrs Queen informed them. "But they're not SCPD."

"ARGUS," the puma growled, padding to Oliver's side.

Oliver's gaze still hadn't moved from Felicity, but at his daemon's remark, he blinked his blue eyes and glanced down at her seriously. Impassive, he slowly pulled on his coat, slipping past the shaking girl to look out the window himself. He briefly met his mother's gaze before he turned back to Felicity, who was trying her best not to have a complete mental breakdown in front of the two Queens. The people who had been hunting her for years on end had finally found her - and Felicity doubted that this time she would be able to escape.

"Miss Smoak -" he began.

" - Felicity," she whispered, a lump in her throat.

"Felicity," Oliver started again, the deep rumble in his voice comforting. "You and your daemon are going to be fine. ARGUS is not going to take you away - they're not going to so much as touch you." He paused, as if to let that sink in, before continuing, "The director of ARGUS owes me a favor. I'll go out and speak with her. Stay here, okay? Don't leave the room."

"Sweetheart," his mother said, sounding alarmed, but Oliver cut her off with a piercing look and a shake of his head. Giving in, Mrs Queen deflated and informed him, "I'll stay with Miss Smoak."

Oliver nodded, striding towards the door and ordering sharply, "Strelka, stand guard outside."

The puma reacted instantly, leaping into a trot and following her human outside, slipping through the door just as it clicked shut behind them. Strelka, Felicity mused. That was Oliver's daemon's name. It sounded strong, to suit her personality. But almost as soon as the man had departed, Felicity felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown over her. Brynn, sending her fear and discomfort, slunk up to her in his ocelot form to transform and clamber up around her neck as an ermine, purring soothingly.

Mrs Queen motioned for Felicity to take a seat on the hospital bed. She did so warily, ever aware that the older woman's lion daemon was prowling around the room, watching her like she was a piece of prey.

"There’s no need to worry, Miss Smoak,” Mrs Queen tried to reassure her. “I’m sure Oliver will very quickly sort this terrible situation out with this ARGUS agency.”

“Thank you,” she answered shakily. “Please, call me Felicity. This is Fyrstbrynn. Brynn for short.”

Mrs Queen inclined her head in greeting to the daemon, and Brynn nodded back respectfully. “Then I insist you call me Moira. This is Tarielrond… although we call him Tariel.” She drew up a chair in front of the bed, sitting in it carefully. “May I ask how you and your daemon came to be on ARGUS’ radar? And how exactly Brynn is…” She trailed off, brow furrowing slightly.

“How Brynn is unsettled?” Felicity guessed, swallowing nervously. “He just… never settled at all.”

“There’s been something wrong with us since Felicity was a child,” Brynn said. “The doctors said that Dust didn’t affect her.”

Moira looked shocked. It was understandable, really - it was unheard of for Dust not to affect somebody. Children were born with their souls split between their own body and the form of their daemon, free of Dust. Dust was known by scientists to be an elementary subatomic particle attracted to consciousness, and attached to human and daemon minds as the human part of the shared soul matured mentally. As children grew up, the concentration of Dust particles in their blood would increase; the most dramatic increase, that usually occurred when the child came of age, would eventually cause their daemon to settle into one form.

Felicity ran a hand through her hair with a trembling exhale. “You know they always do those Dust concentration blood tests on children every two years, to find out the rate at which Dust is being attracted to them?”

Moira’s lion daemon purred, approaching them and resting on his haunches. “Yes. The tests are normally used to estimate the age at which a child’s daemon will settle.”

“They discovered pretty quickly that Felicity and I just didn’t seem to be absorbing any Dust into our blood,” Brynn told them. “They decided when we were seven to report it to the government… ARGUS turned up at our house the next day. Tried to convince Felicity’s parents to sign custody of us over to them so they could experiment on us. Her mother took us and escaped… her father stayed behind so we could make a clean getaway.”

Placing her head in her hands, Felicity finished the story: “We’ve been on the run ever since… changed our identities a couple of times… there’s been a couple of close shaves, but we’ve never been caught.”

“But you risked getting captured today so you could come and warn my son?” Moira asked, looking distraught.

Felicity didn’t know how to respond. So she just sat in silence and began softly and quietly crying. Upset at her own stupidity, thinking that she might actually be able to help somebody else with an unsettled daemon and get away with it. Brynn had warned her, but she didn’t listen. She stiffened when Moira emitted a sympathetic sound and settled beside her, wrapping one arm around the blonde in an attempt at a comforting hug. But she soon found herself relaxing into it, leaning into the older woman’s side and nuzzling her chin down into Brynn’s soft fur. Tariel lay down at their feet, tail flicking back and forth as he guarded them.

Both Felicity and Moira glanced up when the hospital room door opened, revealing Oliver and his puma daemon. Felicity immediately started shaking all over again, Brynn squeaking in fear and hiding under her shirt collar. But nobody followed behind them, and when Oliver turned to close the door after them, the blonde entertained for the briefest moment that she and Brynn might not actually be dragged off to be caged and tested like lab rats by the government.

“I managed to convince ARGUS to back off,” Oliver informed them.

Felicity almost burst into tears of relief, but instead just slumped in her seat and closed her eyes tiredly. “Oh thank god.”

“That’s only for now though,” Oliver warned. “There’s no guarantee they won’t come after you and your daemon in the future.”

“Then Felicity and Brynn need protection,” Moira decided. “They’ll come and stay with us until we are certain these ARGUS people will leave them alone for good.” Felicity immediately protested, her daemon doing the same, but they were quickly shot down. “No, please… I insist. You were willing to place yourselves in danger to help Oliver, despite not knowing him at all. The least we can do now is try and help you back.”

“Thank you,” Felicity said, stammering. She could see that Moira and Oliver weren’t going to take no for answer on this one.

Brynn slunk down her arm so he could shift back into ocelot form and rub up against Strelka’s broad side with a purr of appreciation. Luckily, the puma didn’t seem to mind the contact from the smaller wild cat, and leaned down to lick Brynn’s shoulder. Moira’s lion daemon padded up to the pair and nudged them both softly with his muzzle. The sight of the puma, ocelot, and lion being affectionate with each other caused Felicity’s heart to clench. Brynn might finally have the opportunity to make friends with other daemons, which he rarely could when they were constantly on the move and avoiding attachments.

“We should go now,” the puma said. “Before Waller gets the chance to change her mind.”

“I asked the driver to pick us up out the back so the paparazzi can’t accost us,” Oliver said. He helped Felicity to her feet, his hand placed gently but hesitantly on the small of her back. The IT girl couldn’t help but blush a little when he began leading her out of the room, their two cat daemons trailing behind them. “Mom, can you speak to Dr Lang to let him know we’re leaving, please?”

“Of course.” The Queen matriarch bustled off down the corridor to find the doctor, Tariel at her heels.

When Oliver turned his gaze back to Felicity, his stormy eyes strangely warm and gentle. “It’s okay,” he said, his voice tender. For a man who appeared so intense at first sight, he could be surprisingly soft when he wanted to be. “I promise you, I’m not going to let ARGUS hurt you. Or your daemon. My mother has arrangements in place that will protect me, and will now protect you.”

“For some reason, you don’t strike me as somebody who needs protecting,” Felicity murmured.

“Five years on an island on the North China Sea with an evil scientist hunting you down as a test subject for Dust experiments, and you learn some self-defense,” Strelka growled. She’d wound her tail around Brynn’s almost possessively, but the ocelot didn’t seem to mind. Through their soul connection, Felicity could actually feel how calm Brynn was. Her daemon trusted Oliver and the puma.

“Dust experiments?” Felicity repeated, feeling sick. It sounded as if Oliver and his daemon had been subjected to experimentation that she’d been running from her entire life.

“That’s how Strelka is unsettled,” Oliver explained, although he looked reluctant to. He probably hated discussing what had happened to him on the island. Felicity knew that she would if she’d been tortured medically. “She was settled completely in the form she’s in now, but on the island… this man somehow created a device that could remove Dust. He extracted the Dust from Strelka and me, unsettling her, and it resulted in us being partly Separated as well. That’s how she was able to stay up here to guard the room while I went downstairs to talk to the ARGUS director.” He swiftly changed the subject, as what he was telling her was obviously deeply traumatizing. “If what you were saying about being good with computers - so good you could erase my family and I from existence to get ARGUS off our tails - is true... I reckon that you’re also able to fend for yourself.”

“I have… skills, in cybersecurity and computer science areas,” Felicity shrugged.

The man raised an eyebrow. “You mean you’re good at hacking.”

She tried not to look shocked he’d picked up on what she was trying not to say. “I’m... decent at it.”

“You must be if you’ve never been caught. Your skills might come in handy in the future now that organizations other than ARGUS know about our unsettled daemons.”

Horror swamped Felicity’s mind. She hadn’t even thought of that. The entire world now knew about Strelka being unsettled, and that meant other governments, private laboratories, and criminal agencies were in the know. And it wouldn’t take long for news to get out about a mysterious blonde seen with Oliver Queen and Moira Queen having an unsettled daemon as well.

As if sensing her unease, Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing to bring her back to the present. Felicity blinked at him, her breathing stuttered and heart twisted in her chest. She could feel Brynn’s fright as well, as he curled up underneath Strelka’s belly with a small, scared chitter.

“It’s alright,” Oliver comforted her. "You're protected now, Felicity."

She jerked her head in a nod. "I know. Thank you, Mr Queen."

"Oliver, please," he told her. “You’re going to be safe, I swear. I'm going to keep you safe.”

And the weirdest thing was that after years of thinking she would never be safe again, never be able to rest or relax or trust anybody because of her and Brynn’s secret... Felicity believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: 2x20 AU
> 
> thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed. if you'd like to be added to the update tag list, please contact me on either tumblr and twitter and i'll add you.
> 
> tumblr: alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: lexiblackbriar


	2. 2x20 AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we are, the 2nd instalment of fragments... a 2x20 au
> 
> hope you enjoy xx

The forest surrounding them was dark and somber, hiding violence that was now fully visible to the Queen family. Moira was standing, shaking, hands bound behind her, and Thea was kneeling, sobbing and crying freely in terror. Oliver couldn't move. The knee that Roy had injured was killing him, sending shockwaves of pain through his body that rendered him useless.

But as he trembled and shook his head and begged Slade to spare his family, he was sawing silently at the ropes that tied him down with a switchblade.

"There's only one way this night can end," Moira stuttered, her voice betraying her true feelings of fear and distress. "And we both know that. Don't we, Mr. Wilson?

Oliver failed to hold back his sob. This was all his fault; his mother shouldn't have to pay for his sins. Shado's death was on him. He deserved to die. But _not his mother_. "Mom! Please, don't!"

Moira confirmed firmly, her voice shaking much less as she faced the enraged Australian, "Both my children will live."

"Mom!" Thea cried out, her eyes wide and tears streaming down her face. "What are you doing?!"

Moira started trembling again as Slade pointed a loaded gun at her head. "Thea, I love you," she shouted. "Close your eyes, baby!"

After a beat of silence, Slade slowly lowered his gun and turned away, pretending to be feeling remorseful. A new sense of urgency hit the archer as he realized that Slade was withdrawing a sword from inside his coat. He yanked at his bindings and hacked at them with the blade desperately.

"You possess true courage," Slade said lowly, some kind of fake sorrow evident in his tone. "I am truly sorry."

Moira gave a shuddering gasp. "What?"

A feral spark ignited in the Mirakuru-enhanced man's eyes. "You did not pass that on to your son."

And Slade wheeled around, blade drawn, intent to deal the killing blow to Moira's chest, but Oliver managed to break his bonds. With a howl of fury, fuelled by adrenaline and the protectiveness lying inside of him to protect his family, he launched himself at Slade and tackled him to the ground, knocking the sword away from him and stabbing his small switchblade into Slade's shoulder. Bellowing, Slade struck out at him, and the two exchanged heated blows.

Slade delivered a precise kick to Oliver's injured knee at the same time as a sharp jab to his head, and the archer fell back, yelling in pain. Oliver lunged for the fallen handgun and grabbed it, rolling over to point it at his enemy - but Slade had vanished.

"Mom?! Thea?!" Oliver shouted concernedly, staggering to his feet.

"Oliver," Moira whispered.

Relief overwhelmed him, and he collapsed again, sagging in exhaustion. He threw the switchblade onto the sodden, mossy forest floor to where he hoped his mother would be able to reach it. Moments later, both Moira and Thea were making their way on wobbly, unsure footing towards him, stumbling and sobbing and shaken, but _alive_.

"Mom. _Mom._ " he repeated, choking it out as she fell to his knees and embrace him tightly, crying, Thea falling down and hugging him too. "Thea. He didn't - did he hurt you? The crash - _are you_ \- Mom, Thea-"

Thea managed to spit out, trembling, "We're fine, Ollie. You saved us. You saved us. We're okay."

Just hearing those words, the shake in Thea's voice, set off his protective streak again, and he found the Arrow rising to the surface. "We - we have to move. We can't stay here. Slade could be - he'll come back with reinforcements and I can't -"

"Let's move, Oliver, let's go," Moira urged. "Your knee -"

"It's fine," he lied quickly. "Help me up."

With both his mother and Thea supporting him, he was able to shove back the pain enough to get to his feet and the three of them started hobbling and staggering towards where the sound of sirens was gathering in the distance, no doubt where the crash had happened.

"Phone," Oliver suddenly remembered. "I need my - Thea, could you -"

"Sure," Thea swallowed. She slowly stumbled around the site, rummaging with shaking hands through the dead leaves until she emerged with all three of their cell phones - and Oliver's retractable bow.

Oliver took it and as soon as he squeezed the handle, the mechanics were activated, and the bow unlocked itself around his hand. Thea was staring at it wide-eyed. The archer couldn't help but feel relieved he was armed again. He didn’t think Slade would come back, but he might send reinforcements, and he wanted to be prepared in case that happened. Leaning up against a tree, he checked his phone's home screen. And no surprise, there were around seven missed calls from Diggle, another five from Felicity, three from Laurel, and even three from Detective Lance.

He called Diggle, and he picked up on the second ring.

"Oliver?! Where are you? The police called about the crash - I’m by where the limo went off the side of the street. What happened?!"

"Slade," he replied shortly. "He tried to kill us. He didn't succeed."

"You kill him?”

"No, he got away. Look, I'm pretty sure my mom and sister are in shock and Slade busted my injured knee. I'm gonna need you to come to us."

There was a pause and then Diggle said, "Yeah, police agree with that. Lance wants to know where you think you are."

"Dig, literally all I can see right now is trees," he responded exhaustedly, frustration and pain leaking into his voice. He glanced around and tried to listen for any police sirens. After a moment, ignoring the slight ringing in his years, Oliver managed to hear something coming from behind him. He checked the stars, trying to work out what direction Diggle would need to travel it. "By my estimate, south-east of your position now."

"Okay, we’re heading your way now. Felicity’s going to try and ping your phone so we can get there quicker. Stick tight. ETA ten minutes."

Oliver could head the wind as Diggle obviously started running, the shout of policemen echoing in the microphone. Finally, his knee gave out and with a groan, he slid down the tree, sprawling on the ground. Thea fell beside him and gripped his free hand tightly, still shivering, burying her head in the crook of his neck, while Moira just knelt and wrapped her arms around both of them, eyeing his bow warily.

"OLIVER!" came Diggle's bellow from the distance. The search party had spotted them and began sprinting towards the three of them, their bright torch beams dancing.

When they finally reached the Queen family, the bodyguard promptly swore on seeing Oliver's knee and yelled back for a paramedic. The archer tipped his head back onto the tree, giving a shaky sigh of relief. Diggle eased his bow out of his hand and stuffed it in a duffle he was carrying, out of sight. Detective Lance swam into his vision and then Oliver’s mother and sister were being pulled away from him, blankets wrapped around them, as Diggle, Lance, and a few other officers heaved Oliver upwards and practically carried him back towards the road.

Once they reached the asphalt, Oliver lifted his head and saw a red-eyed, sniffing Felicity standing by Lance's cop car. She ran towards them and threw her arms around Oliver's neck with a sob of relief.

“Oh god, I thought you were dead! I thought I’d lost you!”

"Hey. I'm fine, I'm fine. You're not gonna lose me," he muttered, recalling their conversation from before she had revealed Thea's true father to him.

"I almost did tonight," Felicity whispered. “When Detective Lance called me - when I saw the limo - I just thought…”

He cupped her cheeks gently, reassuring, “It’s okay.”

“I should be the one comforting you,” she sniffed, wiping tears away from her eyes.

“Then you can give me another hug.”

Paramedics approached the archer and the blonde who were locked in a tight embrace. They began leading Oliver away, trying to transfer him to a waiting ambulance. Felicity hung back, looking helpless and broken as he was taken away from her. He reached out a hand and she rushed forwards to take it. Both Felicity and Diggle hung around the stretcher he was placed on, offering support.

“Ready for transport to Starling General,” he heard one of the paramedics say. 

"I can't go to hospital," Oliver hissed ferociously to his bodyguard. "Slade's still out there."

Diggle shushed him and it made the archer feel offended for a moment. "You need to get that knee sorted out, man. You won't be going up against Slade if you can't walk."

"Where's my mom? And Thea?" He questioned frantically, trying to turn to head to search the crowd for them. He just realized that he hadn’t seen them since leaving the forest.

This time it was Detective Lance who spoke. "Hey." His voice was softer than usual. "They're fine, they're going to the hospital in another ambulance. If you want, I'll go with them and make sure they get there, alright?"

“I’ll go with them,” Diggle told him. “I spoke to the paramedics and they’re going to let Felicity ride with you.”

"Thank you," Oliver choked out sincerely.

He must have passed out on the way to the hospital, because when he woke up after a horrible nightmare that Slade had killed his mother and he had been unable to stop him, he turned over under scratchy pristine sheets and sniffed in distaste at the smell of disinfectant and sterile medical equipment.

It looked to be on the fringes of dawn, the sun wavering on the horizon, tinging the darkness with a few faint hues of tangerine and magenta. He was in a private room with three beds, and his mother and sister were in the other two, fast asleep. Swallowing, the archer twisted so he was using one elbow to sit up. He couldn't even feel his injured knee. He shrugged off the sheet and swung his legs off the bed, readying himself to stand.

"Whoa, whoa. Where'd you think you're going?"

The sudden protest made him jump, and it jarred his knee, and his pain suddenly re-announced itself, making him growl. His head whipped around, and he softened when he spotted Diggle, Felicity and, to his surprise, Detective Lance, resting in dragged in chairs. Lance was back in casual clothes, head leaning back on the wall, snoring quietly, and Felicity was sleeping on his shoulder, legs curled up beneath her.

Diggle, it seemed, had been keeping watch. He stood from his chair and approached Oliver seriously, before pushing on his shoulder so he was forced to shuffle back so his leg and knee were back on the bed.

"You shouldn't even be standing," he said disapprovingly. "And Mrs Queen would kill me if I let you run off," he added, casting a look sideways at the sleeping Moira.

"I don't think I could run anyway," Oliver admitted. "My mom? Thea?"

"Sedated. Thea was freaking out over your knee, but Moira seemed strangely chill about it. Is there anything you wanna tell me?" Diggle raised an eyebrow.

Oliver heaved a sigh and his eyes flickered down to his hands. "Yeah, she knows," he whispered dejectedly. "She told me last night that she had known for a while." His eyes fell on Felicity. The last thing he could remember from the ambulance was her holding his hand, murmuring reassurances to him as he struggled to cope with the number of monitoring leads and needles. "She stayed here all night?"

"We're your team, Oliver. There was no way either of us was leaving," Diggle smiled. “And if you think Felicity was going to leave after what happened… you probably need to get your head checked out.” His gaze grew serious. “What you two have - it’s special. I hope you realize that. She was in hysterics last night when we got the call from Lance; I don’t think I’ve never seen her so distraught.”

“Felicity’s a caring person, of course she would be upset.”

The bodyguard shook his head. “You know she more than just _cares_ about you, man.”

He swallowed. “I know. I… I more than just care about her too.”

“You gonna get your head out of your ass any time soon then?” Diggle raised an eyebrow.

“When this all blows over.”

“Good. I’ve got something for you.” Diggle snuck a glance towards the door, as if checking to see no one was spying. He unwrapped his rolled up jacket and revealed Oliver's retractable bow and quiver.

Leaning back against the headboard, the archer closed his eyes and nodded his thanks. He felt a lot safer with his weapons in the room. At least now he could protect his family and friends if he needed to. Diggle hid his bow under his pillow, and his quiver under the bed, before patting Oliver on his shoulder gently.

"Oliver?" He opened his eyes and found Felicity lifting her head from Lance's shoulder, and the detective waking up as well.

He gave a weak grin and said, "There's my girl Wednesday."

Felicity gave a heartfelt sob and rushed forwards to hug him, careful to mind his knee. Oliver rested his chin on top of her head and kissed her forehead as she embraced him.

“How are you feeling?”

The archer shrugged. “Okay, all things considering. It could have been worse.”

"Slade could have killed you, Oliver. He was going to kill Thea and Moira. If you hadn't -" she bit off and swallowed. "They wouldn't be alive if you hadn't had that penknife in your pocket."

"It's a good thing you're so paranoid then." Lance came forwards with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

Oliver stiffened slightly, and Felicity pulled away so she was perched on the side of the bed, but still close. "I'm sorry, kid, I'm gonna need to take a statement," the detective said apologetically. "I know it isn't the best time, but you'll be outta hospital in no time, and it's better to get it done sooner than later."

Oliver shook his head. "It's no trouble, Detective." He inhaled deeply, keeping his eyes on Felicity as he began, "We were in the limo, driving home. We were talking but then something slammed into us from my side. I must have been knocked out, because when I came to, we were in the forest and Slade had us tied up. He was going to kill my mom but then I managed to cut through my ropes and surprise him. He ran after that."

Detective Lance looked up from where he was taking notes on a notepad and ran a hand over his face. "That's not really going into much detail, kid," he said tiredly. "Your sister had a lot to say on the subject."

Oliver visibly tensed and a spasm ran through his leg as he fixed glowering, wide eyes on the detective, that burnt like a tiger's. Diggle had his eyebrows raised and was standing at the foot of the bed, exchanging glances with Felicity, who was absentmindedly rubbing soothing circles on Oliver's right hand.

Lance sighed, seeing he had said the wrong thing. "I know you don't particularly like talking about...what happened to you there...but if this guy was on the island with you and something happened to make him...wanna do you in...we need to know, Oliver."

There was a silent beat, in which Oliver shifted on the bed, testing his knee. It burnt with pain, so he stilled, and then he closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "So Thea told you I knew him?"

"Yeah. I presume there's some story behind him wanting to destroy your life." Lance simply seemed curious.

He glanced away, conflicted. He hated talking about life on Lian Yu. Felicity seemed to sense his unease, because she took hold of both of his hands, squeezing them like she was his lifeline.

“You don’t have to do this,” she murmured.

“No, I do,” he breathed. “This is all my fault, it’s because of me that he’s here and he nearly killed us all…”

Felicity shook her head vehemently. “Don’t say that, Oliver. You know this isn’t truly your fault. Please… please stop blaming yourself.”

Lance cleared his throat to get both of their attention. “I can give you a couple of minutes if you need some privacy.”

“No, it’s okay,” the archer said, looking pointedly at the blonde to reassure that he was going to be fine.

“If you’re sure.”

He wasn’t entirely certain, but there was no backing out now. Oliver took a deep inhalation to center himself, swallowing nervously. "Slade Wilson was my friend on the island," he said, his voice reserved and quiet. "He was Australian Intelligence, and had been sent to rescue another man whom I considered my friend, called Yao Fei, from mercenaries that were using the Island as their base for a terrorist operation."

He rubbed his fingers and thumbs together in an anxious tick as he instinctively wanted to reach behind for an arrow, but knew he didn't have his quiver strapped on.

"Slade taught me how to survive, how to fight... numerous times we tried to ambush the mercenaries to steal a plane, or a boat, in order to escape. We were brothers in arms, and we both had a common aim, so we worked together." He took a shuddering breath. "When I was captured and tortured, he'd look after me, and I did the same for him."

Oliver didn't look up. He knew that if he did, the strength he had to keep speaking would fade. "There was a woman too. She was the daughter of Yao Fei. Her name was Shado. I didn't know it, but Slade was in love with her. The three of us were a team. We managed to beat the mercenaries and foil their terrorist operation."

He paused. Felicity immediately tightened her grip on his hand to ground him as he began to feel slightly dazed, flashbacks of those rough years on Lian Yu threatening to take over his mind. Lance seemed to be making a few notes, but was mostly listening, sympathy and shock on his face. Luckily, Thea and Moira were still asleep.

"In my second year on the island, a freighter arrived. It belonged to a man called Ivo. He was looking for something, a Japanese miracle World War Two drug that was hidden on the island."

"Mirakuru," Diggle realized.

“What’s this Mirakuru? What makes it a miracle drug and why was it so valuable?” Lance questioned, narrowing his eyes.

“Not important for now,” the archer shook his head. "Slade, Shado and I had something he wanted. Information of sorts, about the Mirakuru. He captured me, took me to the boat and tortured me for information. Needless to say, I wasn't very talkative." Oliver clenched his fists. "That was when I found Sara."

Lance's eyes widened and he said, in a dangerously low voice, "She was with you on the island? You knew she survived. You son of a bitch."

Oliver immediately flinched, his movement so violent that he almost fell off the bed. It was only thanks to Felicity hastily grabbing his arm to stop him from sliding off that he didn’t end up sprawled on the floor.

"I - I didn't -" The archer turned away, trembling. "She had been rescued by Ivo and was working for them. She stood there and watched as I was tortured. Later, she betrayed Ivo and escaped to the island with me. She became a part of our team for a short while." He rubbed viciously at his eyes. "Slade got dosed up on Mirakuru… we thought he died. Then Shado, Sara and I were captured by Ivo. Ivo put a gun to their heads and forced me to choose one of them."

Felicity looked appalled, and she whispered tearfully, "And you chose Sara."

"And I chose Sara," Oliver choked out. "And it was all for nothing. Days later, I saw her drown again. I was certain she was dead."

Lance blew out forcefully, looking slightly tearful himself. "Jesus Christ," he muttered. "And Slade Wilson was angry because this Shado woman he loved, died. And he blamed you."

"Blamed me then, blames me now." Oliver shook his head. "He made a promise to me that he would destroy everything and everybody I loved. I didn't - when I got back I didn't think it mattered. I thought he was dead."

"How come?" Lance questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Because the last time I saw him on the island, I shoved an arrow through his eye."

"Oh god," Felicity moaned, her head falling onto the archer's shoulder. "Oliver..."

"Ollie?"

Oliver turned his head, and smiled gently when he realized Thea was slowly sitting up, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Hey, Speedy," Oliver greeted her, worry sparking in his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Thea didn't speak. She literally just pushed her legs off the bed and stood. When she stumbled, Diggle rushed to catch her to make sure she didn’t collapse immediately. Felicity rose to help the bodyguard practically half carry Thea over to the archer’s bed, making sure she wasn’t going to fall off before stepping back.

Thea instantly threw her arms around Oliver’s neck with a sob, embracing him tightly. He hugged her back, wincing when his sister’s weight caused his knee to twinge with pain. “Hey, it’s okay, Speedy,” he whispered, stroking down her trembling back. “We’re safe. We’re all okay.”

“We nearly weren’t,” she shuddered. “Wilson was - he was going to -” _kill us_. She couldn’t finish her sentence, just buried her face in his shirt.

“Your brother stopped him.” Both of the Queen siblings whipped around to see Moira standing on wobbly legs, Lance steadying her. “We’re safe - Oliver saved us.” Her eyes were sad and haunted as she turned to her son, and the archer looked down, already knowing what she was about to ask of him. “You have to tell her.”

“Mom -”

“She deserves to know,” his mother insisted. “She _needs_ to know.”

“If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about,” Thea cut in, pulling back from Oliver, swallowing, “Then you don’t need to tell me. I worked out it. I would have to be stupid not to realize… after last night.”

Oliver stared at her wordlessly, his throat thick. He couldn’t say anything, and he didn’t. He would have been concerned about his sister if she’d suddenly forgotten how he’d had his retractable bow with him after Slade’s attack, but he was more worried about her reaction to figuring out he was the Arrow. Thea was maintaining a cautiously blank expression. Diggle and Felicity seemed to sense his unease, because Felicity slid onto the bed beside him to hold his hand supportively, while his bodyguard reached out a hand and placed it on Oliver’s shoulder, grounding him.

“Please… you have to know I’ve always wanted you to know,” the archer finally managed to say, his voice raspy. He was careful about his choice of words - they did have an active member of law enforcement in the room with them, after all, although Lance didn’t seem to be focusing on their conversation too much. “I didn’t _want_ to keep this from you… but I had to. For your safety.”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, Oliver,” Thea muttered, looking away.

His heart sunk. “Thea… please. I - I can’t have you hate me. The only way I’ve ever been able to sleep at night is by convincing myself that I was protecting you. I never wanted to hurt you. Please don’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” his sister said, suddenly fierce. “I could never hate you. But this isn’t some stupid little lie about being at work when you’re really having lunch with your personal assistant. This isn’t even lying about Malcolm Merlyn being my father -”

“I’m sorry, _what? _” Lance interrupted in shock.__

__But Thea continued as if he’d never spoken. “This is lying to us about _who you really are _. This is - this is deceiving us about your _identity_. I can’t… I don’t hate you, but I can’t forgive you. Not yet. Definitely not now.”___ _

____Rolling his eyes, Lance exclaimed loudly, “If this is about Oliver being the Arrow, I guess we’re all on the same page then?”_ _ _ _

____An awkward silence fell. Felicity and Diggle fully turned around to stare at Lance incredulously, while Oliver just glanced quickly over at him with a sheepish, guilty expression before returning his gaze to his sister and mother._ _ _ _

____“I had a feeling you knew,” the archer commented. “But also didn’t think you would ever admit it. Plausible deniability.”_ _ _ _

____“I’ve suspected since the Undertaking,” Lance shrugged. “Once we started working together, it was confirmed to me almost every other week - Felicity and Diggle would always call you by your name when talking to you, so I could hear them down the phone during our calls.”_ _ _ _

____“So _Detective Lance_ knew before Mom and I did?” Thea asked disbelievingly. Oliver flinched and shrunk into himself. She sounded angry. She had the right to be._ _ _ _

____“I’ve known since the Undertaking as well,” Moira confessed._ _ _ _

____“So I’m the last person to know,” Thea laughed bitterly._ _ _ _

____“Thea… I’m sorry.”_ _ _ _

____She shook her head. “I want to know everything,” she demanded. “But mostly, I want to know why precisely Slade Wilson was trying to kill Mom and me for revenge against you. I want to know how you met him on the island and how he’s here now.”_ _ _ _

____Oliver exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. He settled back into the pillows on his bed, still grasping Felicity’s hand tightly. “I’ll tell you everything,” he said. “You deserve to know all of it. You should get comfortable. Once I start… I’m not going to stop talking until I’ve finished the story.”_ _ _ _

____“No lies?” Moira questioned._ _ _ _

____“None,” he promised her._ _ _ _

____“Good.” Thea shifted so she was sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, moving so that her mother could perch beside her. “Start talking.”_ _ _ _

____And Oliver did._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: starling city wolf pack verse - alpha wolf oliver queen discovers felicity is also a wolf when she's attacked by a hunter
> 
> thank you for reading! if you'd like to be tagged for future updates, contact me on tumblr or twitter
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


	3. SCWP; oliver discovers felicity is a wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 3 of fragments:
> 
> starling city wolf pack series - alpha wolf oliver discovers that felicity is also a wolf when she's attacked by a hunter
> 
> ([link to the SCWP series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/371495))
> 
> hope you enjoy x

Oliver prowled around the alleyway corner in wolf form, his claws scraping against the asphalt. His fur bristled, standing on end as his ears pressed against his skull. Currently, he was tracking the scent of a recently arrived werewolf hunter in Starling City.

Werewolf hunters were rare. Wolves were incredibly hard to hurt and only a few things could properly kill them; silver bullets and wolfsbane were the most popular. Wolf hunters knew how to use both of those to their full, deadly potential, hating the different species, thinking of them as threats. Due to their work, werewolves were becoming even rarer.

His father had managed, as the Starling City Alpha, to keep the secret of how large the werewolf population was in his territory a secret; it would be catastrophic if hunters heard about how large the pack was. They would be slaughtered. But during Oliver’s five years away on Lian Yu, in Hong Kong and Moscow, he and Robert hadn’t been around to protect their pack and territory. Word had escaped about his pack. Hunters, although doubting the claims of a dozen-or-more strong pack, were starting to arrive. As the Alpha now, having immediately taking up his father’s mantel on returning, it was Oliver’s job to get rid of them. Though his family and pack didn’t particularly like how he dealt his threats and intruders, they couldn’t deny that Oliver’s methods gained results. And protected the pack.

The sight the Alpha was met with as he turned the corner caused a fierce, feral snarl to erupt from his throat. The hunter was looming over a small wolf, shotgun raised and preparing to fire as he pressed his boot onto the wolf’s side, pinning it to the ground.

Growling furiously, he launched into a sprint and pounced, snapping his fangs into the hunter’s shoulder and dragging him down to the ground. The man tried to shoot at him desperately, shouting out, but Oliver clamped his jaws around the hunter’s throat and shook the life out of him until the human went still and limp, dead. Oliver slipped his canines from the hunter’s neck with a rumble of remorse, eyes closing in self-hatred; he absolutely despised killing and taking lives, but he tried to tell himself that he killed this human in defense of a fellow wolf.

The Alpha stepped back from the dead human body, licking his fangs clean, before he turned to examine the wolf he had just saved. She was cowering in the shadows of the alleyway behind a trash can, only half of her visible. Oliver approached her cautiously, lowering his head to try and convey he was friendly.

“It’s okay,” he said softly. “You’re safe now. He’s dead. You’re safe.”

“He was going to kill me,” a timid voice whispered, and then the wolf revealed herself, light from a streetlamp falling onto her. It illuminated her silvery-white pelt and her scared, blinking ocean blue eyes. She was quivering with fear as she murmured, repeating, “He was going to kill me. Thank you - you - you saved me…”

His eyes widened as the she-wolf ducked her head shyly and he questioned in realization, “Felicity? Felicity Smoak?” Oliver had met her only a few weeks ago when going to her office for her help with Hood business - not that she knew that. He had never suspected that she too was a wolf. Just thinking about it confused him; how could _Felicity_ be a wolf? He had known within moments that Diggle wasn’t human when first meeting him. How come he didn’t realize the adorable babbling blonde IT girl was like him?

Felicity shrank back slightly until she was crouched submissively underneath the archer’s belly, recognizing him as her Alpha. She whined and whimpered, still shaking, obviously in shock from nearly being pumped full of hunter’s silver bullets. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to find out this way… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Shh. Shh. It’s alright.” Oliver nuzzled into her fur to try and soothe her, despite the fact he was still confused. “I can’t believe I didn’t…”

“I hide my scent,” she sniffed, rolling onto her side and curling up slightly, trembling. “I hide my scent with a really strong perfume and I - I don’t like telling people about my wolf and I know, I know you’re the Starling Alpha and I should have told you…”

Oliver wrinkled his muzzle at the strong stench of blood - wolf blood, distinctly different. He nosed at Felicity’s shoulder again, asking concernedly, “Are you bleeding?”

The silver she-wolf rolled over onto her other side, exposing a wound on her flank. Judging by the damage it had done, it had been a silver bullet. Luckily, it was only a graze. It was deep and gushing crimson, but at least the bullet wasn’t still inside her, poisoning her.

“It hurts,” Felicity told him breathlessly. “Why does it hurt? I thought… bullets couldn’t harm our kind.”

“Silver ones can,” Oliver answered. He bent his head so he could delicately lap at the wound, cleaning it up a little so he could properly examine it. The sharp metallic tang of the blood on his tongue made him shudder; wolf blood always tasted so much worse than human blood. “It’s not too bad. I can patch you up easily.”

“Thank you.”

Oliver glanced up, startled, as a car raced past the alleyway entrance. The light from the headlamps danced across them for a brief second before fading. They were still in danger. Hunters rarely hunted werewolves alone. There were probably another two or three hunters lurking out there on the streets, searching for wolves to kill. “We need to get out of here, get you to safety. Do you think you can run?”

“Y-Yeah,” she stammered, standing up fully but seeming wobbly on her paws. Oliver emitted a small noise of worry, pressing into her side to keep her upright. “A-Actually can I amend my answer? I don’t t-think I can -”

“Okay, I’ll support you. We need to get somewhere safe so I can contact my betas.”

They began a swift journey out of the alleyway, Oliver keeping an eye out for pedestrians and cars on the streets, making sure they were covered by the shadows. Felicity stumbled every so often over her paws, and her silver fur reflected too much light, almost revealing them a few times. Since the Alpha’s dark grey form was twice the size of hers though, he managed to keep her relatively hidden by darkness.

They finally reached a deserted street on the edge of the Glades which Oliver deemed safe, at which point he lifted his head and howled, sounding his song to the sky, loud and unwavering. As his howl tapered off, it was returned in his distance; he recognized the call as Quentin’s, and sighed in relief. He howled back with enough amplitude to project their position and at the end of his song, Felicity even joined in for a few seconds, her howl weak and shaky but still sounding stunning and beautiful.

“That’s my beta,” Oliver reassured her as Quentin replied once again. “He’s going to send for help - my stepfather is human, he’ll bring a van to pick us up.”

Another howl sounded - this one deeper and more guttural than the detective’s. It was Diggle, telling him that he was at the foundry and ready to help out if need be.

“Who’s that?” Felicity muttered.

“That’s my bodyguard. He’s just saying that he’s nearby and can support us if we need it.” The archer gazed around worriedly. “We need to keep moving. Those hunters would have heard the howling and are probably coming to investigate.” He nudged her. “Come on, Felicity. We can make it.”

She groaned, tail between her legs. “But Oliver… I’m tired.”

“No, no, Felicity…” he protested as she tried to lie down, forcing her to stay on her paws and shoving her along the pavement with his haunches. “Come on. You can do this. We can rest later.”

They loped along the path for ten minutes or so, making sure they kept moving, Oliver urging the silver wolf along. Luckily there weren’t any cars or people around in this abandoned area of the Glades. Every few minutes, a horrified feeling would come over him when a van drove past nearby, as he feared the hunters had found them, but then it vanished.

Felicity panicked as a van turned the corner, driving towards them at speed, whimpering fearfully and whispering, “Oh god, they’ve found us -”

“No -” His heart lifted. “That’s - it’s Walter, Felicity. He’s here to pick us up. We’re safe, we’re safe -” He turned and started licking her muzzle encouragingly, hoping she would stay awake and conscious long enough to get her safely into the back of the vehicle.

Walter parked the van on the curb and jumped out to open the back doors, looking completely frazzled and out of breath. When Oliver and Felicity approached, Oliver’s tail wagging and tongue lolling as he was thrilled to see him, Walter exclaimed, “I’ve never driven a van before! And I didn’t know where I was going!”

Oliver gave a rumbling laugh and hopped up into the back into a nest of pillows and blankets that had been layered down on the floor, grabbing Felicity by her scruff and hauling her up gently beside him. Almost as soon as Felicity clambered in and her head hit the pillows, she fell unconscious. At first, Oliver was worried, nuzzling her and sniffing to make sure she wasn’t injured, but he figured that she was just exhausted.

He managed to shift back into human form for a second despite the humming under his skin telling him to stay as a wolf, long enough for him to order Walter, “Take us to the old Queen steel foundry, not home. Diggle and I have been setting it up as a safe house for our pack just in case the mansion is compromised. It’s closer and we have medical supplies there.”

Felicity remained passed out for the rest of the journey. The Alpha wolf curled around her protectively, resting his head on her shoulder as the rapid movement of the van shook and jolted them both. Felicity’s wound had clotted and wasn’t bleeding so much, but it still needed to get looked at quickly, just in case any silver fragments had broken off from the bullet and lodged into her flank.

He’d only known Felicity was a wolf for less than half an hour and he already considered her under his protection. She wasn’t part of his pack - although that might change in the future - but he still felt that primal urge to keep her safe, shielding and defending her from any threats.

“You’re going to be okay,” Oliver whispered. “You have to be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: 4x01 missing/alternate scene
> 
> thank you for reading! if you'd like to be tagged for future updates, contact me on tumblr or twitter
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


	4. 4x01 missing scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 4 of fragments: a 4x01 missing/(alternate?) scene near the beginning of the episode where thea realises what she and laurel interrupted
> 
> (i know a couple of you have been leaving prompts and ideas in the comments... i'm sorry but this is just a collection for ficlets i've already written and are in my drafts folder. i have wayyyy too many fics on my plate already to take on more prompts)
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Oliver’s had this evening planned out for three weeks. He doesn’t know what’s made him suddenly _desperate_ to make Felicity his wife; maybe it’s the enhanced senses he’s built up over the years picking up that something’s going to change their lives soon that will threaten their relationship... but upon seeing rows upon rows of diamond rings in a jewelry store during one of Felicity’s shopping trips, he was struck by the thought of _Yes, yes, need to do it now, need to propose, need to do it now!_

So here he is, sitting opposite Felicity in their suburban house in the outskirts of Coast City, basked in candle-light and his hands practically shaking with excitement as he mentally prepares himself for the Big Moment.

It’s the anniversary of their first date, and he’s going to properly celebrate it with her, by hopefully making her his fiancee.

Felicity babbles and rambles adorably throughout dinner about many things: Oliver’s amazing cooking, how the neighbors three doors down just had a baby, Lyla sending them updates about baby Sara every week, how Thea is planning on getting their around-the-world vacation pics framed for the Loft. Oliver can’t help but just grin stupidly at her the entire time. His insides are twisting and he feels giddy with anticipation.

After both of them finish the main meal, Oliver sits up straight and feigns an _oh-I-suddenly-remember-something_ expression. “The souffles are still in the oven. I’ll go fetch them and bring them out, shall I?”

“You made souffles?” Felicity repeats, shocked and impressed all at once.

“Chocolate souffles,” Oliver corrects, smiling at her dreamy expression.

His girlfriend claps her hands happily, beaming as she exclaims, “Oh my god, I could kiss you right now!”

“Your wish is my command.” He stands from his seat and leans in, pressing his lips to hers briefly, his eyes slipping closed as the moment washes over him and when they split, she’s grinning like a maniac and the mantra on repeat in his head is, _I am so lucky to have her_. “There,” Oliver replies smugly.

He escapes from the room and into the kitchen, where he takes the souffles out. The archer is careful to make sure they don’t sink, because sunken-souffles are in no way whatsoever romantic, and he wants this to be the most romantic moment for them since he and Felicity drove off into the sunset together. He wants to wow her and shock her and make her speechless. Oliver doesn’t want Felicity to ever forget this moment, because he knows he never will, and he’ll never, ever forgive himself if he messes this up. This is his proposal to her, and he can’t mess this up.

The doorbell rings in the background, and there are faint voices, but Oliver is too busy concentrating on swirling homemade whipped cream onto the top of the two individual souffles with a piping bag, finishing with a flourish and feeling very proud of himself. He puts both of them on a tray before retrieving the ring box from its tippy-top-secret hiding place.

He inhales deeply, holding his breath as he gently lifts the ring out of its velveted box. It’s an antique princess-cut diamond set in platinum, and it screams Felicity all over. It’s elegant and beautiful, while also simple. It defines their relationship like no other. At first, Oliver wanted to get her an emerald, but then he figured that if he went with something simple and classic for the engagement ring, an old Queen heirloom, then he could buy her a double emerald and diamond wedding ring.

Oliver tries to settle the anxiety now pooling in his stomach. Felicity is an angel; over the years, she has put up with him pushing her away so many times, and in the end, she always came back to him. And over the last five months of their vacation, she has been so incredibly patient. She’s coaxed him back to sleep after he’s woken up screaming from nightmares of torture, after he’s suffered mental breakdowns about what the League made him do. She loves him despite the fact that he’s irredeemable and damaged and a monster; she has made him so much more, and so much better. Felicity Megan Smoak is Oliver Jonas Queen’s lighthouse in the darkness, and she’s guided him into shore after he’s been lost and cold while drifting at sea for years.

He loves her completely, and she loves him too. But putting an engagement ring on Felicity’s finger makes his love _real_. It proves to her, once and for all, that he’s hers and she’s his. Now and _forever_.

Calming himself, Oliver picks up the tray and makes his way back towards where the dining table is set up. This night has been planned for weeks. This is finally happening. He is finally going to propose to her.

“Oliver?” Felicity calls.

“I’m coming!” he responds, a little too quickly, but he blames it on nerves.

He walks into the doorway, expecting to find his girlfriend waiting at the table, but she’s walking in too, from the entrance foyer, and she looks stricken and wary, as if she’s unsure what his reaction is going to be. The archer frowns at first because honestly, what could be so bad?

But then Thea and Laurel stride into the room.

Oliver freezes.

“You have visitors,” Felicity tells him helplessly, and a little hopelessly.

There’s a brief awkward silence and then Thea says sheepishly, “Hi Ollie.”

“... Hi,” he chokes out.

His little sister smiles, but it seemed forced and sad. “We really need your help.”

“What?” he replies, shocked dumb for a moment.

“We need the Arrow,” Laurel says, looking like she’s feeling awkward being in Oliver and Felicity’s home.

Oliver hopes his face doesn’t express what he’s feeling - because he feels _horrified_. He’s absolutely _terrified_ , and _devastated_ and _goddammit, Thea, Laurel, what the shit, I was just about to propose to the love of my life and you just FUCKING RUINED IT._

He doesn’t respond or even react to that for a moment, because he’s internally screaming and he’s so, so upset that his plan to propose to Felicity on their anniversary, with romance and an awesome dinner and souffles, _he made souffles, it took four fucking days to perfect that recipe_ , has been torn to _shreds_.

“The Arrow’s dead,” he finally manages. “I couldn’t be that person even if I wanted to be. And I don’t want to be.”

“Ollie?” Thea asks nervously.

“Give - give me a minute,” he gets out, in a croaky voice.

Felicity moves forwards worriedly, but Oliver shakes his head, telling her that he’s fine, he just needs a moment alone. He must rein in his panic effectively, because when he shakes his head, he doesn’t do it frantically, he does it calmly. That seems to reassure Felicity enough to nod back, hesitantly offering a tour of the house to their visitors.

Oliver wants to curl up and die by the time he sets the tray down on the kitchen counter. By now, the souffles have sunk. Kind of like his heart. The archer doesn’t realize his hands are trembling until he tries to reach for the engagement ring to clean it off. He’s _scared_ ; he has the perfect life, with the woman he loves, in a house with a lawn and a fireplace and their fern. They cook dinner together (although Felicity stays away from the oven and stove) and they do couple things. If Thea and Laurel’s arrival is going to do anything, it’s going to take that life away from him. They want him to be the Arrow - but he _can’t_. He can’t simultaneously step back into the darkness to hide under a hood while living a life of peace and light with his girlfriend. He can’t be the Arrow and be with Felicity. And _he wants to be with Felicity so fucking much._

“Hey, Ollie - look, I’m really sorry. I thought I’d just -” Thea gasps from the doorway on seeing the engagement ring held between his shaking fingers. “Oh my god. You - is that -” Her eyes are as round as plates. “Are you and Felicity -”

“No,” he interrupts, softly. The yearning in his voice is clear enough. He doesn’t need to say anymore.

Thea dramatically pales. “Oh my god. I am so _so sorry, Ollie_. I didn’t - we didn’t -” She trips over her words, rushing forwards to grip his shaking hands. “I am so, so sorry, I didn’t know, we wouldn’t have come if we knew and oh _god_ , you were probably planning this for _weeks_ and we just barged in and…”

“Thea,” he cuts in gently. “It’s okay, you didn’t know.” _Though I really, REALLY wish you’d CALLED before you came here and screwed up my plan!_

Thea looks like she might cry, she’s so regretful. She continues apologizing, whispering, “Oliver, you were going to _propose_ and I just interrupted it. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t know, Laurel and I just completely -”

Seeing that there are tears in her eyes, Oliver hastens to say, “It’s not a big deal.”

“YES, IT IS!” Thea shouts back at him, shaking his shoulders. She lowers her voice when the archer waves his hands desperately to encourage her to be quieter. “Yes, it is, my brother was just about to propose to the woman he loves! This is a big deal, Ollie! Or it _was_ a big deal. It _would have been_ a big deal if I wasn’t such an idiot and _called ahead_ before coming here!”

There are footsteps on the stairs and Oliver hurriedly pockets the ring and thrusts a spoon into a souffle, shoving the spoon filled with gloopy chocolate mess into Thea’s mouth. She reacts by grabbing his arm, but she eats the mouthful while shooting him a weird look.

“Everything okay here?” Felicity questions, stepping into the room with Laurel on her heels, her eyebrows raised and a faint smile at her lips.

“We heard Thea yell,” Laurel explains shortly.

Oliver manages somehow to plaster a massive grin on his face. “Speedy was saying she didn’t think I could cook, so I told her to try one of the chocolate souffles. She said they were God's gift and when I said it wasn’t that good, she shouted ‘Yes, it is!’”

When Laurel turns to Thea for confirmation, Thea just nods, actually taking another bite of the souffle because _damn_ , her brother can cook. Oliver’s a little smug at that. “Seriously, forgot Oliver coming back to Star City to be the Arrow - we should just enslave him to make food for us from now on.” She glances at Felicity. “I don’t know how you got him to start cooking, but I fall to my knees and worship you for it.”

Felicity sneaks up behind Oliver and wraps her arms around his neck and the archer sighs in contentment as she settles her head on top of his, his cheeks being tickled by her blonde hair. She always makes him feel safer, happier, by simply being in the room. The plan to propose to her tonight has failed, but he’ll try again another time. It might take him another month to think up a plan, but he’ll do it. Eventually.

“Aw, I thought one of those was for me,” his girlfriend teases him.

“There’s one left,” he smiles, picking up the sunken chocolate mess and snagging a teaspoon, handing it up to her.

Felicity takes a bite and gasps in pleasure, obviously delighted with the flavor. “I’m going to ask you to make me these every day for the rest of the week.” Quickly looking back at Thea and Laurel, she deflates ever so slightly. “How about I finish this souffle and we all go and talk in the living room. I presume there’s a reason you think the Arrow is needed again.”

Laurel shifts nervously. “Is that okay?”

It’s not really, not at _all_ , but Oliver just forces himself to shrug and agree quietly, “Sure.”

As his would-be-fiancée continues eating the dessert he made her, emitting little groans of bliss, and Laurel and Thea stride away back into the living room, the archer swallows around the boulder that slides down into his chest, heavy and suffocating.

He already knows that whatever happens, whatever they discuss… he and Felicity are going to be heading back to Star City. The darkness is approaching once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: a new au - the first meeting between oliver and felicity, who are both gifted people who have been blessed by angels, called celestials (this one will be up for adoption)
> 
> thank you for reading! if you'd like to be tagged for future updates, contact me on tumblr or twitter
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


	5. Celestial Shifter AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 5 of fragments: a celestial shifter au. the first meeting between oliver and felicity, who are both gifted people who have been blessed by angels, called celestials
> 
> (this one is up for adoption)
> 
> thank you for all your support guys xxx hope you enjoy!

“Felicity Smoak? Hi, I’m Oliver -”

Felicity glanced up at precisely the same the same moment the intruder to her cubicle properly fixed his gaze on her, and as her eyes met his, she inhaled his scent sharply. Her eyes shot open wide as her body instinctively tensed. In response, the man froze, cutting himself off and his muscles going rigid. He stood across from where Felicity was seated, obviously stunned silent.

Swallowing, Felicity took another hesitant sniff, stiffening even more than she already had and letting a low hiss escape her throat. Celestial. And judging by the intensity of his blue-eyed stare, his confident posture, the attitude in which he held himself, and the sheer predatorial power with a hint of pinewood he radiated in his scent, he was an Apex Celestial.

Celestials were extremely rare. And by extremely, Felicity meant, there were only a few in existence. That was mostly because Celestials weren’t what people thought they were - ‘Celestial’ was just a nickname, a possibly inaccurate one, because whenever Celestials were mentioned in law, humans usually presumed the testaments were talking about Angels, or divine creatures; nothing to do with people having the ability to transform into animals.

Genuine Celestials were actually what the testaments called the Angels’ Chosen. At a moment close to death, specific humans, picked due to their potential and strength of their wills and hearts, were resurrected and given powers (although Felicity hated calling them that) in order to protect and the world. There was some belief that Celestials had been tasked with a purpose to achieve something on the Earth in some strange and unknown way. To make changes in a way to benefit humanity.

Felicity had been twenty years old when she’d first died. Perhaps it was the way she died that had convinced the higher powers that she was worthy of becoming a Celestial, as she had been killed by running in front of a speeding car to save a child. And Felicity had no idea what her ‘purpose’ was - all she knew was that she had woken up with the Angel Gabriel gifting her with the freakish ability to turn into animals at will and sense human emotions.

Which was precisely why she knew at that precise moment that Oliver Queen, the recently returned billionaire playboy who had spent five years on a deserted island, and had apparently died on that island and become a Celestial, was completely and utterly shocked at the discovery of another person being like him.

“ - Queen,” she finished for him, snapping back to reality and remembering where the man had trailed off. “You’re Oliver Queen.”

Oliver just stared at her, his breath hitching. Felicity pressed her lips into a thin line. She could sense that he didn’t know what to say, and was having trouble forming a single coherent sentence in between his astonishment and slight fear.

After a few seconds of standing silently and stiffly in front of her desk, Oliver managed somehow to get out, “You’re -” He paused, gathering himself before he took a hesitant step forward. “You’re… like me.”

Felicity raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Turning back to her computers, because she really had to complete this set of coding, otherwise she probably wasn’t going to get her monthly bonus (and she deserved those few extra hundred dollars, thank you very much), she replied dryly, “A Celestial. I’m a Celestial. And you are also one.” After a minute, realizing he wasn’t going to speak, Felicity sighed, swiveling her chair back around to face him. “So what Genus are you, Mr Queen?”

He looked bewildered. “Genus?”

Perplexed by his reply, Felicity prodded a little deeper into his emotions and - yes, he really didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. Which was even more baffling, because when Celestials first made the transition from being human, they were meant to have the divine creature that chose them to be transformed talk to them about their change.

“Each Celestial is assigned a Genus when they’re first changed by their Transitioner.” When he made no noise or movement of understanding, she prompted, “The Angel that turned you from a human into… you know, _this_. They’re meant to assign you the Genus of a species to be able to transform into.” When Oliver just shook his head, Felicity rolled her eyes. “Come on. You have to know. I can smell that you’re an Apex, so the animals of your Genus have to all be predators.”

“I don’t understand,” Oliver replied, but his voice was weaker now. He was still confused, even more so than before, and his increased fear and intense desire to understand what was going on almost overwhelmed Felicity. “I - I didn’t get this… Transitioner. And I don’t know what you’re talking about with this ‘Genus’ thing.”

The blonde frowned. He was telling the truth. He genuinely had no idea. “How long ago were you changed?” Felicity asked.

“Changed?”

“When did you die?” she clarified. “Or if you can’t answer that because you aren’t sure, since when have you need able to transform into whatever animals you can?”

“Five years ago,” Oliver responded, his voice darkening as he added, “The night the Gambit went down.”

Right. Right, of course. He would have drowned in the North China Sea. “And you never got a visitor from -” She pointed upwards towards the sky.

He shook his head slowly. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

His eyes flashed dangerously. “I remember that night pretty vividly, Miss Smoak.”

Felicity winced. Obviously a touchy subject. Although if the way in which he’d died wasn’t a touchy subject for Oliver, she would have been worried. But Felicity could work with this. “Okay. Sorry. And none of that Miss Smoak business... call me Felicity. Is it okay if I call you Oliver?” He jerked his head in a nod. “Oliver, what’s one of the animals you can turn into?”

Oliver looked nervously around the office and Felicity realized quickly that he was afraid of somebody overhearing their conversation since the door was open. Standing swiftly and ignoring the fact that the man tensed, preparing for a fight as she sidestepped past him, Felicity closed the door firmly and offered him a seat. He took it warily, still looking adorably bemused at what was going on.

“A fox,” Oliver replied softly.

Felicity was pleasantly surprised. “The Vulpes Genus?” Most Apex Celestials were assigned one of the Felidae or Canidae family Genera, but she’d never heard of somebody being a Vulpes Celestial before. Although she was curious, she also knew she had to be wary. Foxes were cunning, intelligent and usually tricky predators. If Oliver was a Vulpes Celestial, that meant he had a lot of secrets to hide.

“What, uh… Genus, are you?”

Tilting her head sideways, Felicity decided to give him a little test. Offering her wrist to him, she replied, “Tell me what you think.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “You… want me to smell you?”

“Yup. Tell me what you think I smell like and what you think that means.”

Hesitantly taking hold of her arm, he bent his head down to sniff carefully. Felicity closed her eyes and swallowed when his nose brushed against the delicate underside of her wrist. After a couple of seconds, he released her and scooted back in his chair, chewing thoughtfully on his lip.

“You smell like orange blossom and vanilla, but I think that’s your perfume,” he said. “But there’s something deeper in your scent, something a lot stronger. It’s like an intense sandalwood. You’re definitely not prey… you’re one of those - what did you call me? - an Apex Genus?”

She nodded, slightly impressed. “You have a lot to learn, but you pick things up quickly. Woody undertones in a scent indicate a Celestial with predatorial shifts, yes. Somebody who can transform into prey animals like deer or birds will smell citrusy and fresh.”

“I still don’t know what your Genus is though,” Oliver responded, sounding frustrated.

“I’m the Leopardus Genus,” she informed him, putting him out of his misery.

“Leopardus? Like the big cat?”

“Not leopard. _Leopardus._ The Genus mostly consists of small wild cats rather than big cats, that have coat patterns similar to leopards. Like an ocelot.”

“So we can turn into different animals,” Oliver commented. “That’s cool and all, but what are we meant to do with these powers? Is there a purpose for them? Why were we given these abilities by - by _Angels_? I still don’t fully understand.”

“Join the club, buddy,” Felicity muttered under her breath. “There’s a lot you don’t know yet and it will take a while to tell you everything. I don’t even know everything.”

“I need to know.” He shot her a pleading look, his scent of desperation growing stronger. “Please.”

Felicity sighed, pushing away from her desk and fully turning to face Oliver. “Okay. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m assigning myself as your Genus Guide. I’m going to teach you how to use your powers - yes, plural, because it’s not just turning into a fox that you’ve been gifted with - and you are going to listen to everything I have to say. Now it’s -” She checked her watch. “Nearly the end of my shift, so if you stick around, I’ll take you back to my apartment and we can get started on the explanations, because this definitely isn’t the right environment for those conversations, and I doubt you want us to go to your family’s house, because if I’m right, they don’t have any idea what’s going on with you.” She reached out to grasp his hand, squeezing it lightly to show some support when he just stared at her completely helplessly. “Let’s get you and your Celestial duties on track.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: a short wolf!oliver scene with oliver scent marking felicity's clothes
> 
> thank you for reading! if you'd like to be tagged for future updates, contact me on tumblr or twitter
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


	6. Wolf!Oliver; scent-marking clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fragments part 6: a short wolf!oliver scene - felicity confronts oliver about him scent-marking her clothes
> 
> ([read the rest of the wolf!oliver verse here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4512360/chapters/10263123))(this is a separate verse from SCWP)
> 
> hope you enjoy xx

“Why do all my clothes smell like you?”

Oliver knew that Felicity had arrived at the Foundry before she had even reached the locked basement door. Her scent had been permanently stuck in his head the moment he had first taken it in; the sweet, alluring smell of honey, lavender, and vanilla. Now, whenever the wolf caught even a whiff of the scent, his senses would tingle in anticipation as he waited for her to arrive.

He wasn’t, however, expecting this question. Or rather, it wasn’t much of a question. Felicity worded it as an angry demand for an explanation, pointing at him accusingly as she slipped down the metal stairs into their base. He ran his gaze up and down her form observingly, noting how she was dressed in black skinny jeans and a pink plaid shirt. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she still smelled faintly of artificial strawberry Poptarts. She’d rushed to the Foundry straight from her apartment. The wolf narrowed his eyes, sniffing when he noticed something was wrong. He couldn’t smell his scent on the shirt or her jeans, and he didn’t recognize them from her usual wardrobe.

“Are those new clothes?” he asked.

Felicity glared at him. “Okay, firstly, you do not answer a question with another question. Secondly, yes, these are new clothes. And lastly, _why do all my clothes smell like you?_ ”

Diggle, who had been on the other side of the lair for the first time the question had been aired, so didn’t hear it, had wandered over when he came to realize Felicity’s arrival. On hearing Felicity’s furious question, he snorted and broke down into a fit of laughter.

“And how exactly do you know your clothes smell like Mr Alpha Wolf here?” he asked through his chuckles.

Almost instantly, Felicity’s cheeks reddened in a blush. Oliver’s head whipped around and his cobalt eyes blazed amber for a moment, a snarl at his lips as he ordered his bodyguard to shut up, but since Diggle wasn’t a lycanthrope, it didn’t affect him.

“That’s - that’s not the point,” the blonde spluttered. “I - I just - I wash my clothes with very specific laundry powder and they smell like Oliver’s sweat rather than the powder. And _no_ , don’t ask how I know what Oliver’s sweat smells like! He’s running around shirtless after working out all the time.” Crossing her arms over her chest impatiently, she whipped back around to face the wolf and asked pointedly, “Well?”

Turning back, Oliver winced under Felicity’s glower. Despite being human, distinctly shorter and smaller than him… she somehow had the power to make him want to curl his tail beneath his legs in submission. Her disapproving glare made him feel completely and utterly ashamed of himself. Which upset him slightly, because at the time, he had known what he’d been doing, and for what reason. But now Felicity was angry at him, he felt guilty about even thinking of the idea in the first place.

After a minute of tense silence, Oliver said weakly, “I - I can explain…”

“Oh, you better, mister,” Felicity hissed, striding forwards. “Because let me tell you, waking up this morning and trying to find something to wear that didn’t stink of your wet dog sweat was so hard, I had to make an emergency stop at the mall to pick up a bunch of new clothes, so people wouldn’t assume things considering if I hadn’t, I’d be wearing clothes that literally reek of my boss’ werewolf stink.”

All the while she had been talking, putting him in his place as she furiously stabbed her finger at him, Oliver had been shrinking backward, the wolf within him wanting him to wrap his paws over his ears and whimper. It was utterly terrifying to think that this was now his instinct whenever his new team member became angry at him, because dammit, Felicity had only been part of Team Arrow and his pack for less than a year, and she already had the Alpha bending over backward for her.

Usually, Oliver would have just snarled back with a half-baked explanation and no apology to offer, but of course, Felicity was different, and he couldn’t do that to her. Instead, the wolf found himself ducking his head and taking small steps back, not meeting her eyes. He didn’t want to pick a fight with her. Growling at Felicity was just rude and he knew from experience that would only increase her anger. After a few minutes of Oliver deliberately behaving submissively, both Diggle and Felicity became aware that something was very, very wrong. The blonde visually deflated, edging forwards to the wolf with her hands held out.

“Hey,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“No, you had every right to,” Oliver replied stiffly, still refusing to meet her eyes. “I’m sorry, I promise I’ll buy you a new wardrobe and anything else you need. I - I didn’t intend to make you upset.”

“Well, I kinda am, upset that is, and a little angry because I need to buy new clothes, which is why I am asking whether or not you had a reason.”

She seemed to recognize the fact that he didn’t want to look at her eye to eye, so reached up and cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at her. Diggle tensed at the movement, as if he was expecting Oliver to lash out at her, but instead, the wolf just heaved a sigh and finally looked at her directly.

“It’s stupid, you won’t want to hear it,” he said.

“I’ll always listen to what you have to say, Oliver.”

And did that not cause a little flutter of his head and a quick inhale of breath. Oliver swallowed and glanced at Diggle before he turned back to Felicity, and began to explain. “As the Alpha, I have to protect all the members of my pack. That means, sometimes, leaving my scent on others so stranger wolves know that those people are under my protection. You and Dig are part of my pack and I thought that -” he cut off, embarrassed with himself.

“You thought that sneaking into my house, breaking into my wardrobe and rubbing your sweat all over my clothes would somehow protect me.” Felicity sounded very unimpressed. It just made Oliver sink a little lower in his seat and bow his head again.

“The only thought in my head was that it would ward off any other lycanthropes from approaching you and show my claim to you as a member of my pack.” He looked at her quickly for a moment. “It may seem primitive to you, but I basically marked you as my…” He struggled to find a word that didn’t mean ‘possession’ or ‘property. “... my responsibility to protect.”

“While that is totally ludicrous, a little insane and really, quite creepy…” She offered a small smile. “I’m flattered you think I’m somebody worth protecting, Oliver.”

His heart soared. “You don’t mind?”

“Oh, no, I mind. I mind a lot. And I’m taking you up on that offer to buy me a complete new wardrobe.” She squeezed his hand. “But it’s really sweet that you want to be my Alpha, Oliver.” She froze, clearing her throat. “Okay, ignoring all the connotations that last sentence could have, how about I suggest a compromise?”

“I’m listening.” Desperate to prove himself to her while also needing to protect her, Oliver was willing to compromise with anything.

“I bring you something -” she waved her hand in the air. “A necklace, a bracelet, a scarf, something I can wear on me at all times without it seeming suspicious, and you can scent mark that as much as you want. Unless that means you’re going to piss on it. Because I can accept sweat, mister, but never will I ever let you piss on my jewelry, do you understand?”

“Can I lick it?” That would have been a really creepy question, but some of Oliver’s strongest scent glands were connected to his saliva glands.

Felicity closed her eyes, shuddering for a moment in disgust before she choked out, “Yeah, sure, whatever…”

Oliver nodded, somewhat satisfied. “Alright. I can work with that. But don’t bring me anything of yours. I’ll get you something myself.”

Felicity flushed a deep red and suddenly became very interested in her shoes. “No, Oliver, you don’t have to -”

“I want to,” he insisted. “It’ll make me feel better about breaking into your house and ‘rubbing my scent all over your clothes’.” He smirked a little at the end.

Felicity shuddered again, grimacing despite the fact she knew it was just teasing. “Honestly, Oliver…”

“You’ve never minded his body fluids on you before,” Diggle piped up. He’d moved to the back of the Foundry to start sorting through his handgun ammunition shelf, and was now watching the wolf and blonde amusedly.

Eyebrows shooting up, Felicity called back, “I’m pretty sure if I ever _did_ have Oliver’s body fluids on me, I would mind very, very much.” She slid into her chair in front of the computer set-up, beginning to check over the algorithms she had running currently. “When do you think that’s happened?”

Oliver exchanged a playful grin with Diggle. Both of them had the same idea.

The archer spun Felicity’s chair around and she yelped when she saw that where Oliver had been standing before, there was now a very large, very cheeky looking sandy brown wolf, his tail wagging excitedly. Oliver stopped the chair and held it in place with one of his massive paws - and then proceeded to lean forward and lick all over Felicity’s face. She screamed and tried to push him away half-heartedly, but her screeches begging Diggle to rescue her from the wolf transformed into loud, unrestrained giggles.

“Oh my god, Oliver, get off!” she laughed, burying her hands in the wolf’s fur. “All your slobber is in my hair now and it’s disgusting!”

Oliver backed off with a snort of satisfaction, settling on his haunches in front of the blonde. He cocked his head sideways, blinking innocently and following Felicity at a trot when she rushed over to grab a towel from beside the training mats, trying to wipe away his saliva with a towel. Felicity shot him a glare, reprimanding him with a light cuff of his muzzle. He whimpered and nuzzled his head against her leg in an apology.

“You’re _so lucky_ I think you’re adorable as a wolf,” Felicity said, scratching behind his ears. Oliver leaned up into her touch with a blissed-out expression; she always knew where those precise spots were that would give him the most pleasure. “Go and bother Diggle while I take a shower.”

The wolf turned around with a roguish smile, flicking his ears towards his bodyguard, but Diggle was already running for the back exit. “No chance!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: a post 3x23 fic where lance visits oliver at felicity's apartment to talk
> 
> thank you for reading! if you'd like to be tagged for future updates, contact me on tumblr or twitter
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


	7. Little Bird Blue; shifter!Felicity exposed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today on fragments: a scene from the beginning of the Little Bird Blue sequel that still remains only half finished in my drafts. involving felicity being outed to the public as a shifter
> 
> i know a lot of you really enjoyed reading little bird blue and unfortunately the sequel was pushed back in my schedule massively by other WIP fics and oneshots. maybe i'll end up finishing it someday. i'd love to know in the comments if you're still interested in the verse!
> 
> [read little bird blue here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8003767/chapters/18324025)
> 
> hope you enjoy!

“ _And in a shocking turn of events this morning, we have breaking news - Felicity Smoak, head of Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences division and long-time girlfriend of heart-throb and Starling royal, Oliver Queen, has been revealed to be a shapeshifter. As part of QC’s effort towards their Anti Shifter Discrimination Policy, in promotion of the new Shifter Laws proposed by the Senate, QC’s new business consultant from Stellmoor International, Isabel Rochev, gave a speech at a press conference this morning. When questioned on the company’s Policy regarding shifter employees, Ms Rochev’s response included a statement about the acceptance of employees with these abilities, at which point she, to the world’s astonishment, revealed that Miss Smoak is, in fact, a shifter. Reactions to this reveal have been mixed, but anger and disgust have mostly been received, manifesting in the form of a riot group currently standing at the steps of the QC building -_ ”

Oliver threw the TV remote furiously at the screen, not even caring that it smashed. Anger pumping through his veins, he stormed out of his and Felicity’s recently bought apartment and sprinted down to his Ducati from where it was parked in the building’s garage, vaulting on and speeding off towards QC. _Shit. SHIT. How fucking dare Isabel - I will murder her. I’m gonna kill her. Gotta get to Felicity, gotta make sure she’s okay, gotta find her and make sure she’s alright and not - and not - god, she’s in so much danger, people hate shifters so much, she could get killed or murdered or kidnapped… Gotta get to her._

He and Felicity had officially been a couple for nearly a year. The archer had tried so hard, to the best of his ability, to keep Felicity out of trouble and safe - but it had been difficult. 

The Undertaking had almost taken Felicity from the vigilante. His girlfriend had gathered enough evidence to prove that Merlyn had been blackmailing and threatening his mother, and that had been enough for Moira to trust that by going to the police, she wasn’t going to end up in prison. She had revealed Malcolm’s plan early enough that the evil man hadn’t been able to set the earthquake device off until almost the entire Glades had been evacuated.

Felicity and Lance had only been able to shut off one device, and the other had destroyed the Glades - but only twenty-three people had died. Tommy Merlyn had been one of them, saving Laurel as she was backing up the CNRI servers and refused to leave.

Felicity, however, had almost been another victim. The Foundry had completely collapsed on top of her - luckily she had been able to shift and get into a small, fortified space, but she had been stuck in the stifling, cramped, oxygen-deprived hole for hours until Lance, Roy, Oliver, and Diggle had arrived to rescue her, Roy slipping inside in his fox form to carry her out to safety. It had been a miracle she had escaped without dying.

Secondly, the backlash from the public had almost destroyed their relationship once again. It was revealed by Moira that Malcolm had instigated the Undertaking to try and destroy the small population of shifters living, hidden, in the Glades. It was believed that a feral wolf shifter had killed his wife, Rebecca, which was why he wanted revenge against any shifters living in that area. The public had been outraged - but they had directed their anger towards the shifters.

The way that shifters were talked about was appalling. People called them broken, unnatural, monstrous. They were anything but that. The media said it was just fear making the public react that way, but the shifters had more of a right to feel scared than anybody. Felicity had tried to pull back from their public relationship, because she believed that she would be putting Oliver in even more danger if it was discovered that she was a shifter, since the archer was associated with her. Oliver’s argument was that Felicity was in more danger because she was associated with him, and the Queens were being partly blamed for the Undertaking itself anyway.

It had been Felicity’s everlasting light that had penetrated Oliver’s darkness, making him stay in Starling after Tommy’s funeral. The two of them had looked after Thea at the Queen mansion, housing Diggle and Roy there as well, and helped Moira get acquitted of all crimes. She’d only been held in police custody for a week or so, but it was still a triumph to get her freed and back home.

Queen Consolidated, although having a major drop in stock value and revenue, had survived; Moira had stepped up as CEO, Walter taking back his position of Chief Financial Officer, and they’d started numerous campaigns in order to help with the rebuilding of the Glades. Felicity had been placed in charge of Applied Sciences. The Queen family had struggled and suffered, yet they never showed weakness. Inviting Isabel Rochev as a business consultant had only been a formality - the board wanted all the numbers to return to pre-Undertaking levels, so the businesswoman had been called in. It was safe to say that Moira, Walter, and Felicity all hated her. But they put up with her, if only to keep the board happy.

Team Arrow had grown significantly stronger. Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity had sort of adopted Roy into the team before the earthquake, but the reveal of Oliver’s identity to the young man had sealed the deal. Roy began helping Oliver and Diggle in the field, working in the shadows in his fox form. Detective Lance became a member of the team as well - he very obviously knew that Oliver was the Arrow, but he liked to have plausible deniability. Very occasionally, the detective came down into the Arrow Cave, but mostly he worked with Felicity, helping her get access to the police servers and feeding them information. He had grown very fond and protective of Felicity, treating her almost like his daughter. He had even given Oliver, as Oliver, not the Arrow, the if-you-hurt-her-I’ll-shoot-you speech. With the additions of the fox shifter and police detective, Team Arrow had become a united, powerful group.

_God, I really hope Felicity is okay_. There was no telling how Felicity would feel about her shifter abilities being revealed to the entire world. Oliver knew that her reaction would be bad. Wherever she was, his girlfriend was probably having a panic attack. The archer needed to get to her.

Speeding his Ducati into the QC employee underground parking lot, Oliver jumped off and ran to the elevator. As soon as he got up onto the executive floor, where Felicity’s office was located, as well as the CEO’s and CFO’s, he was faced by his mother and step-father turning towards him with solemn expressions.

“Oliver,” Moira said lowly, starting towards him.

He shrugged past her carelessly. _I am not dealing with you and your judgment right now._ “Where’s Felicity?” _I need to find her._

“She’s locked herself in the bathroom,” Walter replied quietly. “She’s been in there for the last half an hour, ever since Ms Rochev - well, ever since the press conference.” He shook his head, following Oliver as he stormed towards the executive bathrooms. “Oliver, why didn’t you -”

“Why didn’t I tell you?” he snapped furiously, turning back around to glare at his parents. Moira and Walter shrunk back slightly at his angry expression. _How dare you, how fucking dare you accuse me of being in the wrong here._ “Because it wasn’t my secret to tell, and Felicity has lived in fear since birth because of what she can do. You don’t understand how scared she has always been of being discovered - who could blame her? Discovered shifters are often murdered or kidnapped and experimented on. I’ve respected her decision to keep her ability a secret, and I have helped her do that to the best of my ability, to keep her safe, and now she is in danger. Neither of you were told, because neither of us knew what your reactions would be.”

“I would never hurt Miss Smoak,” Walter said quietly, sounded quite offended at the thought.

_Too right. If you tried, you wouldn’t survive the attempt._ Oliver reached the female executive bathroom door, noting it was locked. “Where’s Isabel?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady, because internally he wanted to wrap his hands around her throat and kill the woman.

“Gone,” Moira said stiffly. Oliver raised an eyebrow in question, and his mother’s eyes were like chips of solid ice as she continued, “I knew from the moment she arrived that we should get rid of that hag, this finally gave me an excuse to get the foul bitch fired. She’s gone and she’s not coming back.” Raising her head, Moira murmured, “We protect our own, Oliver.”

He nodded, appreciating his mother’s words. Moira was confirming that she was accepting Felicity into the Queen family, that Felicity was now under their protection. Shooting a meaningful look towards his mother and step-father, Oliver knocked softly on the bathroom door, squeezing his eyes shut when he heard a muffled whimper of fear. Moira and Walter’s faces shifted into matching guilty expressions at the noise.

“Felicity,” he said gently. “It’s me, honey. You wanna let me in?” _Please let me in, I need to know that you’re okay._

There was no response at first, although the archer thought he heard a faint rustle of feathers. After a second, he heard Felicity’s reply, but it was barely audible, a terrified whisper of, “Oliver?”

“Yeah, baby, it’s me.”

There was a hesitant pause, before the lock unclicked. Oliver cast a quick, cautious glance back at his mother and step-father. “Call Diggle, he’s with Thea helping her set up security at Verdant at the moment. Get him to bring her here, pick you two up. Head to our apartment. Felicity and I will meet you there. Lance and Roy will probably be waiting there as well.”

Moira and Walter nodded, walking off, giving Oliver the entire corridor for space. He waited until both of them turned the corner before slipping inside the bathroom, locking it again quickly. The sight he was met with broke his heart. Felicity was curled up on the floor in the corner, tears running down her face. Her face was gaunt and pale, her eyes red-rimmed to show she’d been crying for a while, and her entire form was trembling, waves of distress rolling off of her.

Oliver swallowed. _Okay, we’ve done this before. You know what you have to do, Queen, you’ve helped her like this before. Just gotta stay calm._ Flicking the switch so that they were bathed in soothing darkness, the sharp lights no longer assaulting Felicity’s eyes, Oliver waited a moment to allow their eyes to adjust before he knelt down, slowly inching towards his girlfriend.

“Is it okay if I touch you?” he asked softly.

Sniffling, Felicity nodded. Oliver sighed in relief. _Okay, well at least she’s not pushing me away._ Edging closer, the archer gently pressed into the shifter’s side, winding his arm around her waist. He absolutely hated the way that Felicity flinched under his hands, but it was something that always happened when she was in a panicked state, even when she knew she was safe with him; Oliver didn’t know much about Felicity’s past, but he had calmed her down from panic attacks enough times that he knew one of her past boyfriends had been unkind towards her during one, and that her flinching at touch was not something personal towards him.

“How are you feeling?” Oliver questioned quietly. _Stupid question, I know, but we need to get you talking so that you don’t start dissociating._

“Like shit,” Felicity whispered back, eyes closed. Very warily, she began leaning into him. “This is so embarrassing. Everybody in the office saw me freak out and run in here. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he murmured, rubbing her back.

“No, it’s not,” Felicity mumbled shakily. “I’m completely terrified and I have no idea how I’m going to deal with this.”

“We’re,” Oliver corrected. “We’re in this together. You’re not going to face this alone, I’m going to be with you the whole time. You know I’d do anything for you.”

“Thanks,” she murmured. “Could you arrow Isabitch for me?”

The archer cracked a smile. _Okay, she’s definitely feeling a little better if she’s focusing on Rochev of all people. Though I’m not surprised, Felicity despises her. That time with the coffee machine shall never be forgotten._ “Mom fired her. I didn’t even get the chance to get my bow and take aim.”

“I’ll take digital revenge later.”

“Do you want to stand?”

“No, I want to cuddle.”

Without even waiting for his reply, his girlfriend wrapped herself around him, straddling his lap and burying her head under his chin. Relaxing a little, Felicity inhaled his scent deeply as she clenched one hand into his dress shirt and the other hand slid around his torso, gripping the archer tightly. Oliver’s lips twitched again, his smile widening as he brought one arm up to cradle her back, his other hand tracing circles into Felicity’s hip. _This is lovely, but she’s using it to distract me from the bigger issue here._

“Felicity,” Oliver sighed. _I absolutely hate to do this but…_ “We need to go.”

“No, we need to cuddle.”

“Fe-li-ci-ty…”

“O-li-ver,” she complained, mocking his voice, but still not moving her face from his collarbone. “I’m comfortable and the world outside that bathroom is mean and scary, so we’re not moving.”

“Everybody is meeting at our place,” Oliver replied tenderly, hating to push her back but doing so, in order to flick his girlfriend’s loose blonde hair out of her face. The storm in her eyes had calmed slightly, leaving behind the visible compassion and love directed towards him. There was still fear there, but it was minimal. _That’s my girl._ “We need to get out of QC, now.”

To his horror, Felicity’s gaze glazed over and she moved her dulled eyes to the wall, saying hushedly, “Everybody is in danger in this building because of me. It’s all my fault…”

There was a riot gathering outside, Oliver knew that, but he didn’t exactly want to tell Felicity that. He had driven past them on his Ducati, and had only seen the crowd for a second, but it had been a large one. A large, very angry one. The Glades residents had blamed the shifters for the Undertaking, but could never pinpoint blame on anybody specific, because shifters were notoriously secretive. But now, they had a very clear, exposed target. _Gotta get Felicity out of here without upsetting her further, gotta get her to safety. Think of it as a mission, make getting to the apartment your objective._

“Don’t you ever think that sort of thing,” the archer ordered, brushing his thumb over her cheek. In one fluid movement, he gracefully lifted them both to their feet, keeping Felicity upright by keeping one arm around her waist and her body anchored to him. “This is not your fault, hun, this is Isabel’s. And she will pay for this, I promise. Right now, however, we’ve got to get to the apartment. It’s a secure location, and the rest of the team and our family are gonna meet us there.”

“Your mom and sister are going to hate me.”

“My mom heavily implied literally a minute ago that you were under the Queen family’s protection, and Thea fell in love with you before she even met you, so I very much doubt that.” Making sure that Felicity was sure on her feet before letting go of her, Oliver stepped back and unlocked the door. “Okay, my Ducati is in the garage, we’ll head down but we need to get your helmet and jacket from your office first. You okay with that?” _We need to get out of here as soon as possible, but I’m not going to rush her after she’s had the entire world’s reactions to her being a shifter dumped as a weight on her shoulders._

Felicity bit her lip in worry. “Wouldn’t it be better if I just shifted and flew there myself?”

It probably would have been, but Oliver didn’t want to let Felicity out of his sight for a second, not when there was a crowd of angry people outside. “No, I want you by my side,” he said firmly. “We’re taking the Ducati.” _It would only take one person with a gun and good aim to shoot a kestrel out of the sky, and I am not losing you, Felicity._

She jerked her head in a nod, eyes glazing over as she whispered, “Okay.”

“Hey.” Gently, the archer cupped her chin, and the shifter startled slightly, although Felicity somewhat settled when her eyes clashed with Oliver’s. He managed a reassuring smile when her gaze met his, filled with concern and agitation due to being out of control. “It will be alright, Felicity. I swear to you. You are going to be safe, you are protected, and I will not let anything happen to you.” _I would die before I let that happen. You are my Life, my Love and the only thing that validates my existence. The day you die, is the day I die._

“I know,” she replied quietly. “But I’m more worried about what’s going to happen to _you._ And to Thea, and your mom, and Dig and, oh god, Roy… what if they find out about Roy?”

“They won’t. Roy will be fine,” he squeezed her hands. _As a fox, Roy knows how to hide in the shadows._ “And they will all be fine as well. Come on, let’s get out of here. We can form an action plan at our apartment, and go from there.”

Felicity nodded. “Right.” Oliver turned to grab the door handle and unlock the bathroom door, but Felicity caught his wrist with a soft noise. “Oliver, you know that - you know that I trust you, right?” she asked shakily.

_Of course I do._ “Of course,” he voiced aloud. “And I trust you. I promise we will be fine, Felicity. We will be okay.”

And he unlocked the bathroom door, grabbed her hand, and they stepped out into the corridor, ready to face the consequences of Isabel Rochev’s actions… together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed! i'd love to know in the comments if you're still interested in the verse!
> 
> next time on fragments: a panther!oliver scene where the queen family and friends are attacked at the mansion, and oliver is forced to shift to protect them
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


	8. Panther!Oliver; attack on Queen mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this time on fragments: a short panther!oliver scene where the queen family and friends are attacked at the mansion, and oliver is forced to shift to protect them
> 
> read the first instalment of the [panther!oliver verse here](https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/11172117).
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Oliver chittered nervously. So many people in such a small place made him uneasy. He knew that Diggle and Felicity were watching out for him, ready to offer support if needed, but he still didn't like it. Lance, Laurel, Tommy, Thea, Walter, Moira, Diggle, Felicity and himself all in one room made him feel trapped and blocked in.

This 'family' dinner they were holding was supposed to help bring them all closer together. Moira had pointed out that Oliver had been quite distant since he had arrived back, and had decided a large dinner, inviting everybody Oliver was close to, would be an excellent way to combat his isolation. As well as that, Walter had just arrived back from his kidnapping, and though there was obviously some argument between him and Moira, she still insisted on a welcome home party. Walter had agreed - but only after Moira had reluctantly consented to inviting Felicity and Diggle, as guests.

Another arm brushed past his own and the archer jumped before giving another aggravated chirp, subconsciously calling out for Felicity. Diggle shot him a concerned look.

"Isn't this wonderful, Oliver?" Moira said loudly.

Oliver's head snapped back and forth in an attempt to establish where all of the sharp piercing noises were assaulting his ears, along with all the bitter scents and different people.

"Oliver?" A hand touched his shoulder and he tensed and turned, preparing to snarl, but it died down into a joyful chirp as a certain blonde IT girl swam into view. "Hey, we can go outside if it's getting to be too much," Felicity whispered worriedly.

"I'm fine," he whispered back, but his eyes said otherwise as he jumped again as Detective Lance brushed past.

"It's time to eat anyway," Felicity said, grasping his hand. "Come and sit next to Dig and I, okay?"

They crowded into the dining room and Oliver darted forwards, trying to block out the _noise-too-much-too-many!_ and slid into a seat in between Felicity and Diggle, determinedly not noticing the confused glances Laurel and Tommy were shooting him.

He didn't eat much. The food was too _salty-sour-sweet-sharp_ and burnt his taste buds, his tongue so used to the bland herbs, vegetables, and meats that he couldn't cope with the overpowering Thai food. Had his mother and sister not noticed in the last three months him not eating when they had dinner together? Or had they noticed it, and chosen not to care?

The dinner went by with no offhand comments, Oliver keeping his head down and answering bluntly when asked questions. As the plates were cleared, he continued to avoid conversation.

_Floorboard-creak. Gun-safety-off. Many-people-not-welcome. Danger! Danger!_ his senses suddenly screamed at him. His head shot up, his nose and ears twitching and he slowly stood to his feet, hunching slightly, battle-ready. 

His mother paused, mid-sentence, looking affronted at her son’s rudeness. “Oliver?”

“Something’s wrong,” was all he said.

“Wrong?” Lance repeated.

Tommy looked equally confused. “What do you mean, wrong? How can you tell?”

"What is it?" Diggle questioned, getting straight down to business.

Oliver turned to him slowly and shook his head once, stepping away from his chair and slinking past the table silently, picking up a carving knife as he went, his grip sure and firm. His mother and Lance looked alarmed.

"There are people in the house," Oliver said lowly.

“Yes,” Laurel agreed, an expression of bewilderment on her face. She tried to stand and reach out for him to urge him to sit back down, but the archer stepped from her with a dismissive turn of his head. “There’s _us._ We’re the people in the house.”

“No, not us.”

“Oliver.” His attention snapped to Felicity, even though she’d only spoken a single word. Her gaze was solemn and serious as she asked him, “What should we do?”

He swallowed and glanced back towards Diggle again. "We need to flip the table. The intruders have guns and they are _not_ friendly.”

Luckily there were no plates or left over crockery on the table. Diggle and Felicity immediately flipped the table sideways, despite everybody else’s protests. But then they heard creaking - loud creaking this time, loud enough for humans to hear, and they also heard faint voices and footsteps from the foyer. The humans’ eyes widened in disbelief as they realized that Oliver had been right - there were intruders in the house. Lance got his gun out, ushering Moira, Walter, Thea, and Laurel behind the table.

Oliver motioned for them to stay quiet as he pressed up beside the doorway, ignoring their silent protests and desperate hand movements to join them behind the cover of the table. He waited patiently, the black leopard within him flicking his tail agitatedly. He was a predator and whoever these people were, breaking into his house… they were intruding on his territory.

The muzzle of a handgun appeared in the corner and he lashed out, unleashing a feral growl from deep within his throat. The gun fired once, but Oliver snapped his hand into the attacker's elbow and forced his arm upwards, so the shot ended up in the ceiling. The man tried to get a hook inside and grapple his arm, but Oliver aimed a low kick to his knees and a quick jab to his gut, sweeping him off his feet and to the ground.

_Not-alone-not-alone!_ his senses growled. The sharp tang of gun oil was still evident, flowing through the air from the other side of the house, and the light taps of footsteps echoed in his ears.

Promptly dislocating the attacker's shoulder and rendering him unconscious with pressure on the right nerve, the archer swiftly fell into a crouch and scooped up the man's gun, chucking it over his shoulder.

Felicity caught it, barely. "How many more?" she asked hurriedly, keeping her panic from leaking into her voice.

"Can't be sure," Oliver replied shortly, examining the attacker's clothes and sniffing, trying to catch a scent. "Maybe three or four."

"How did you know he was there?" Thea stared at him with scared, wide eyes. “How did you know how to do _that?_ ”

The others were equally aghast as his little sister. “You can fight? Since when?” Laurel asked in an accusing voice. 

Oliver ignored her question and bounded over to the window, glancing outside. No visual threats. _Need-family-safe, plan-attack-enemy?_ "Detective Lance, I want you to stay here with my mother, Walter, and Thea. Diggle, you're with Felicity and Laurel. Make this a secure area. I'm scoping out the rest of the house."

"You can't just leave!" Thea argued. "These are dangerous people, Ollie! They could have killed us, and they still can! You could die!"

Frustration gnawing at him, Oliver allowed his panther to leap forwards a few steps, a deep growl coming from his throat and eyes flashing. Thea immediately gasped and backed off, stumbling back into Moira and Walter’s arms. His mother and step-father appeared shocked at Oliver’s snarl. It only made his frustrated rumble increase in volume and depth as the leopard inside of him itched to burst free.

"Oliver, Oliver," Felicity said firmly, stepping forward to place her hands on his shoulders. His gaze flicked over to her and his muscles untensed at the sound of her warm voice. "Calm down. Let's focus on the people who are currently trying to kill us, okay? Because at the moment, I really like my life and I'm sure most people here do."

The panther settled even more hearing her talk, and Oliver gave a single chirp, that Felicity had come to associate with her name. The sound startled the others, although Diggle just chuckled under his breath.

"What was _that?_ " Laurel whispered.

"You're better off not knowing," Oliver responded grimly. Then his ears pricked, his eyes shot open and he yelled, "Get down!"

As soon as he hit the floor, tackling Felicity down with him and protecting her with his body, a flurry of gunfire smashed through the window, sending shards of lethal glass showering down upon them and shrapnel shredding the walls. Two men appeared dressed in black with machine guns and pointed them at them. Diggle fired twice at them, as did Lance, but their shots missed.

"Oliver Queen!" one of the men shouted. "Give up and we'll let your family and friends live!"

Oliver helped Felicity crawl back against the other side of the table, furious at the scent of terror she was emitting. He wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace, trying to shield her in case any shots came her way. It meant that he could stop her from getting hurt, but it also meant that they were trapped. His breathing shallow, he bared his teeth in an irritated snarl. He inhaled deeply again, trying to figure out who these intruders were and why they wanted him - and unleashed another spine-tingling growl as he recognized the scent. _Island-cold-dark-needles-pain-knife-PAIN._

"You should know I'm not one to surrender that easily," he called back.

The man who was presumingly the leader of the group huffed and addressed his partner in a whisper. It was quiet enough for the humans in the room not to hear, but it struck Oliver's ears clearly: "Grab his sister if you can. Use her as a hostage."

The overwhelming protective instinct of _protect-Thea-protect-Thea!_ washed over his mind and before he even properly knew what he was doing, Oliver vaulted over the flipped table, over his mother and Laurel's heads. Felicity’s cry of protest echoed in the back of his mind as he threw himself into the man who was turning the muzzle of his gun towards Thea. The attacker yelped and tried to shoot at him, but Oliver hastily disarmed him and threw the gun back so it clattered into the corner. Another sharp jab had the man collapsing unconscious to the floor.

The leader had backed up and Oliver tensed as he realized the man had his gun trained on him. The intruder’s face was covered by a black mask, but the panther could sense his amused smirk, and it only angered him further.

"Please, if you want money, you can have it. But please don't hurt us!" Moira stammered, clutching onto Walter's arm.

"Oh, I don't want money, Mrs Queen," the man said, his voice mocking. "I'd be happy walking away with your son in my van."

Shocked silence fell. The leopard jolted in alarm inside of him, wanting to come out so he could escape and run away from this stressful situation, but Oliver forced him back with a pained wince. He had to stay. He had to protect his family.

"You want Oliver?" Walter asked, confused and stunned.

"He didn't tell you." The man was laughing. "Well this is going to be fun, isn't it? Do they really not know what that Island changed you into?"

"I would stop talking," Felicity rushed to say, poking her head up so just her panicked eyes could be seen over the side of the table. "Like, right now, if you appreciate living. Taunting him doesn't really end well for anybody."

The man laughed again, waving the muzzle of his gun about; but Felicity was watching Oliver, well aware that he was already on the brink, and one slight push would unleash the panther on them. Diggle and Lance, meanwhile, had been trying to subtly get into better positions to take a shot. But the man noticed, and before Oliver could stop him, he grabbed Thea by the arm and yanked her upwards. The archer bounded forwards a step and snarled, but the man simply pushed his gun muzzle into Thea's skull as she cried out and shook in terror.

"I don't want things to become messy, Mr Queen," he said, in a sickly pleasant voice. "But I don't like not getting my own way. You come with me or I shoot your beloved sister."

"You really don't want to do that," Diggle said, pointing his gun at the man, his eyes flickering to Thea in concern every few seconds.

"You shoot me, and you risk killing your precious Thea. Now, Mr Queen, you are going to agree?"

A deep rumbling was coming from Oliver's chest. He was glowering at the man, and every so often his eyes would flash with something that wasn't human, and his hands were trembling in attempted restraint. The panther was enraged. He wanted to spill this attacker’s blood. Anything to protect his kin. _Protect-Thea-protect-Thea!_

With Oliver not answering, the man raised his head and pressed the gun harder into Thea's crown, gripping her arm so hard it left marks and bruises. Thea cried out in pain and tried to struggle, but the man lifted his arm as if he was going to strangle her, obviously a threat.

_PROTECT-THEA!_

Oliver snapped. Seeing the man visually threaten to strike his little sister in front of him destroyed any self-control he had. One second there was a trembling, tense Oliver Queen standing protectively in front of his friends and family, and the next second there was a very large, black wild cat yowling ferociously.

The fur on his glossy black pelt was on end, his hackles raised, and his lips were drawn back in a feral growl. When the light fell across him, it highlighted the faint mottled pattern beneath the midnight, and revealed the scars scattering his coat. He was a cat who had won many fights in his lifetime - and he wasn’t about to lose this one. One paw raised, ears flat against his skull, Oliver gave another piercing, fierce snarl, his long black tail lashing and whipping back and forth, claws unsheathed.

"Jesus Christ," Lance whispered in astonishment, immediately backing off, dragging Laurel with him.

" _Oliver?_ " Moira yelped.

"Change back!" the man demanded in a bellow. "Change back or I'll shoot her right now!"

It was a stupid threat, and Oliver knew it. The black leopard lunged upwards and snapped lethal jaws around the man's gun arm, his massive size shoving him backward, allowing Thea to duck away and into the safety of Walter's arms. The man fired two shots, but they hit the ceiling. Darting backward, he circled around the man tightly in a midnight blur before striking again; this time, Oliver pulled himself up onto the man's shoulders so the leopard's powerful hind legs could slam him into the wall the moment he leaped off.

A roar rose from the panther's throat that was followed by a series of threatening growls and yips as he prowled towards the man, who was now cowering in the corner, clutching his heavily bleeding arm. He loomed over the attacker, mouth gaping wide to expose razor-sharp canine teeth at him.

"SCPD! GET DOWN!"

The panther's head whipped around, because Hilton and a SWAT squad had just stormed into the room, clad in riot gear with government-issued machine guns. Hilton took one look at the panther and began shooting.

Oliver fled, leaping over the table and towards the window. A bullet caught him in his hind leg and he howled in agony before vanishing out of the broken window. Leaving a completely stunned group of his family and friends behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: a scene where wolf!oliver meets felicity's dog, fenrir, for the first time. there's some... tension, to say the least
> 
> thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed. if you'd like to be added to the update tag list, please contact me on either tumblr and twitter and i'll add you.
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


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